02'00
The economy of Uganda is thriving. That is... in comparison with a few years back. Uganda still is one of the twenty poorest countries in the world. But beautiful new buildings appear in the once so desolate capital Kampala. Last week a British bank took over a Ugandan bank. Apparently the British firm had enough confidence in the Ugandan economy to do this.
But again and again, Uganda is not in the news in a positive way. A year ago, the tourist industry had a hard time because eight foreign tourists were killed.
02'42
On March 17 this year, the country was quivered. The small village of Kanunga in the south-western part of the country was said to be a mass suicide site. The members of a sect had set their church afire with themselves in it.
Joy Kazuzu - eyewitness
All the people of the village were running to the church.
We found many dead bodies. Many children.
Everywhere you saw skulls.
The skulls looked like burned cobble-stones. And all bones were burnt black. That's how they died.
03'25
A few days later an other horrible discovery was made. A little further on the sects land a mass grave was found. In the cesspool of a toilet 153 dead bodies were thrown on each other. The members of the sect did not committed suicide, but were slaughtered. And the leaders escaped.
03'48
Last Sunday (April 2nd) a memorial service was held in Kanungu. In a speech, the vice-president Speciosa Kazibwe put the feelings of many Ugandans into words.
04'35
The many hills in the south-west gave the region the nickname ‘The Switzerland of Uganda'. In 1988 Joseph Kibwetere founded the ‘Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God.' Just 500 metres from the till then unknown village of Kanunga. Kibwetere used to be a priest in the Roman Catholic Church, but was expelled. He worked closely together with a woman named Gredonia Mwerinda. She said to be in close contact with the Holy Maria, the mother of Jesus.
Joy Kazuzu - eyewitness
Everyone who joined the sect was immediately asked to sell all his belongings.
They have to sell their furniture, their land, everything and give their money.
The money disappeared in the cash-box of the religious group.
Families were torn apart.
The children, the men and women apart.
Every kind of communication between them was made impossible.
Talking was forbidden. They could only use sign language.
Kenneth - eyewitness
They used sign language. Even the assignment of duties was in sign language.
The till of the land, the care for the cows, cooking...
Everything was in sign language.
But it was well organized.
Others took care for the churches or did the housekeeping.
Joy Kazuzu - eyewitness
The members of the community built schools, stores, churches, farms. Everything.
06'18
The local authorities didn't see any danger. They even were quit happy with this sect, according to police spokesman Mugenyi
A. Mugenyi, police spokesman
English
Many Ugandan people from the poor southwest are hauled in by the movement. Many of these illiterate people have a sacred respect for leaders in general, but especially for religious leaders.
07'48
Throughout the years the sect gathered hundreds of followers. Between six to seven hundred of them were murdered here in Kanungu By now, more than 900 bodies are recovered and still more burial sites are expected to be found. It's likely the mass murder began somewhere in February.
Joy Kazuzu - eyewitness
Then came the year 2000.
In February they start to sell everything they had.
They sold all healthy cows. Very quick and very cheap.
Cows worth 900 dollars were sold for 350 dollar.
Everything what was in the stores was sold on one Saturday.
One of them told me that they were going to buy a truck.
And a generator. Therefore they needed money.
Why the truck was needed is not clear. It might be to transport the bodies. Nobody knows. The car might not even been bought, because the leaders just wanted the money.
Joy Kazuzu - eyewitness
Then it became the 17th of February.
I think it was about ten, eleven o'clock in the morning.
Everyone had to go inside the church. The windows were
boarded up.
Everyone had to go inside. Women, men, many children.
At the end of this whole operation they locked themselves up.
Even the strong man at the door kept standing there and was caught in the fire.
After that...
I think they had petrol, because there were three jerry cans in the church.
And then it was like a bomb exploded. The roof was set on fire, the corrugated iron was blown up.
09'51
Three days later at this spot, just 100 meters from the burned church, a cesspool with 153 bodies was found. The human remains laid there already for a while. That's why visitors use a bough with a strong flavour. The smell of deaths is still there.
10'13
From his home, 150 kilometres ahead, priest Katalibabo had a great view. But the Ugandans police became suspicious after the discovery of the first mass grave. In every single house of the former leaders of the sect they search for murdered followers. This house turned out to be a house of horrors.
L. Betonganize
A pretty room was built beneath the house. It looks just like a refrigerator.
It was laid with bricks from the top.
When we opened it, we found dead bodies.
10'54
The horror continued when a second mass grave was revealed. In this house 155 bodies were found. Every single body is put in this sloppy mass grave.
L. Betonganize
Maybe you could explain why you, who were living in the neighbourhood, didn't notice anything?
We didn't know anything. They didn't talk to anyone.
And around the territory, where they lived, was a fence.
You couldn't see what was happening behind it. You were not able to see it.
They had built a double fence.
The neighbour is even a brother of the suspected murderer. He lives 15 metres from the grave. But he hasn't noticed a thing. He didn't see a thing because of the fence and he didn't hear a thing because he's deaf.
R. Katalybabo - brother of founder of sect
I don't know anything of these dead bodies.
I am very surprised that the bodies were found close to my home.
I am crying for the dead.
Not for my younger brother, but for all these poor people.
12'05
The fences around the priest's house are pulled down. Due to these fences no-one knew what happened inside.
PTC Nico van den Berge- Dutch
12'32
The catastrophe was complete when a few days later another the mass grave was discovered This time in Rushojwa, at a two hours drive from the centre of the sect in Kanungu. All over the southwest of the country there turned out to be such horror sites. Here were also people living just next door. But nobody noticed that 81 persons were buried here. Again, fences and trees hided what happened over there.
13'05
They got 2 meals a day, didn't have any sexual intercourse, weren't allowed to use soap, weren't allowed to speak and wore uniforms. Green for the followers, and black for the leaders.
Nobody can explain why this happened all of a sudden. Silent killers for... for whom actually?
One theory says it's all about the money. Followers had to hand over all of they're belongings to the leaders. But the district official has another opinion.
English SOT
If it's not the money, what then?
English SOT
14'57
There was much criticism on Uganda right after pictures were shown around the world of barefooted prisoners who were forced to recover the mass graves. And for sure, it was irresponsible to have unprotected people dig up decomposed bodies. But on top of that, important evidence could have been lost this way.
English quote
15'49
Why people are also nettled at is the way the Ugandan police handles the human remains. These used to be normal people who were so unfortunate to be trapped by the leaders of the sect. Until recent days, the sloppy mass graves weren't guarded at all. More than hundred bodies in a hole, sand on top of it and ready. The smell of death goes right trough the thin layer of sand. That's not careful, to say the least.
English SOT
Too little money for a thorough investigation. The Ugandan police indeed have just one professional pathology anatomist at its deposal. That's not to many to search the hundreds of deaths of this sect.