Uganda Cult
January 2000 – 20 mins
Sally: Uganda... site of the world's worst-ever mass killings... where recently, more than a thousand cult members were systematically murdered by their religious leaders. Tonight on Special Assignment... we investigate why this dreadful deed took place in a country as strongly religious as this.
Kanungu, southwestern Uganda… Headquarters of the doomsday cult, “The Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God”.
This is where the worst religious mass murder in modern history was planned.
For over ten years, the cult had been operating in this area… with a following of more than five thousand. Last year, the cult leaders convinced their followers that the start of the new millenium would be the end of the world.
Cult members sold off everything, believing they would go to heaven in Noah's Ark. When the world didn’t end, more than five hundred people, were lured here on March 17th… among them, many children.
They were barricaded inside an old make-shift church. Then they were set alight.
At the scene we met two brothers. Their grandfather was among their relatives and friends who died in the inferno.
The cult leaders spared no-one. Not even their own family members. One of the masterminds behind the murders was Credonia Mwerinde, a former prostitute turned Catholic nun. She lived here at Kanungu.
These are the cult leaders who killed in the name of religion. Many of them were priests and nuns in the Catholic church before they started the cult. They styled many of their ceremonies on the Catholic model… and claimed to have visions of the Virgin Mary.
The discovery of that grave lead police to six more sites. There another five hundred corpses were found in mass graves.
This is the house of the other mastermind behind the killing spree. One hundred and fifty five bodies were found buried inside Father dominic Kataribaabo’s house. And in pit latrines outside.
Police suspect the victims had been systematically killed since early January. The corpses were cemented under the floors of the house. Mealies were planted over the outside graves.
Barely twenty metres away, is the house of father Dominic's older brother. Harusen Oworyanawe lives in abject poverty. He sacrificed his own youth to pay for his younger brother's theology studies in America. He and his wife have no money to leave the area which they believe is now haunted by spirits.
Even local politicians claim they never knew of the murders.
Father Dominic also deceived his own nephew. He sold this house to him just before the Kanungu killings. Little did Bart Bainomukama know of its grisly contents. He believes Father Dominic wanted to kill him by inviting him to Kanungu.
It’s hard to believe that no-one ever suspected the cult leaders. It now seems that Father Dominic abused the ignorance of the extremely religious community.
All the activities of the cult were aimed at keeping their deeds secret. Families belonging to the cult were split up… to stop them communicating… or asking any questions. With their children in the clutches of the leaders, parents were kept hostage…
Ad break
Uganda is looking for answers… and scapegoats.
More than 70% of the population is devoutly Christian. The Catholic church has the largest following. It now stands accused: why didn’t it warn its members against the cult? Why did so many devout Catholics leave the church and flock to the cult?
In Uganda, the born-again churches are mushrooming. There’s no control over these churches – or their activities. In the capital of Kampala alone, there are hundreds of charismatic churches. They lure believers with fire and brimstone sermons and promises of miracles. Often, their target is the unemployed.
After the Kanungu incident, many born-gain churches distanced themselves from the “The Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God”. But their fanaticism and unconventional methods are now also being questioned… as fears grow that they too might be a breeding ground for extremists.
But the harshest questions are left for government. Why didn't it prevent the death of more than a thousand of its people? Did it allow freedom of religion to be abused?
With a pending referendum, the cult killings couldn't have come at a worst time for government. Ugandans have to decide on June the 29th whether they want a multi-party democracy… to replace Pres. Yoweri Museveni's one party government.
Uganda has abundant freedom of speech. Museveni's critics and opponents are making the most of it… using the tragedy as a political football.
After the horror and religious persecution of Idi Amin's reign, the present government guaranteed absolute freedom of worship.
The security organs were caught by surprise.... and there’s been a huge public outcry over their failure to detect the murder plot. The cash-strapped police say it's nearly impossible to investigate churches in a country as religious as Uganda... there are simply too many....
Three months after the Kanungu fire, the people of Uganda are still grappling to make sense of the tragedy. They can’t understand why they were betrayed by religious leaders… the very people who were supposed to look after their spiritual well-being. But there are several theories about the cult-leader’s motives ...
The cult leaders have all disappeared. Police are offering two million Ugandan shillings for information on their whereabouts.
In a new twist, they suspect that Dominic Kataribaabo and Credonia Mwerinde have fled to Europe. The other murderers might have perished in the Kanungu fire.
But the cult is not dead. A survivor of the massacre is again recruiting followers…
The horror of the slayings has done nothing to weaken the faith of ordinary Ugandans.
Father Dominic's brother and his wife still cling to their religion .... they have nothing else!
January 2000 – 20 mins
Sally: Uganda... site of the world's worst-ever mass killings... where recently, more than a thousand cult members were systematically murdered by their religious leaders. Tonight on Special Assignment... we investigate why this dreadful deed took place in a country as strongly religious as this.
Kanungu, southwestern Uganda… Headquarters of the doomsday cult, “The Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God”.
This is where the worst religious mass murder in modern history was planned.
For over ten years, the cult had been operating in this area… with a following of more than five thousand. Last year, the cult leaders convinced their followers that the start of the new millenium would be the end of the world.
Cult members sold off everything, believing they would go to heaven in Noah's Ark. When the world didn’t end, more than five hundred people, were lured here on March 17th… among them, many children.
They were barricaded inside an old make-shift church. Then they were set alight.
At the scene we met two brothers. Their grandfather was among their relatives and friends who died in the inferno.
The cult leaders spared no-one. Not even their own family members. One of the masterminds behind the murders was Credonia Mwerinde, a former prostitute turned Catholic nun. She lived here at Kanungu.
These are the cult leaders who killed in the name of religion. Many of them were priests and nuns in the Catholic church before they started the cult. They styled many of their ceremonies on the Catholic model… and claimed to have visions of the Virgin Mary.
The discovery of that grave lead police to six more sites. There another five hundred corpses were found in mass graves.
This is the house of the other mastermind behind the killing spree. One hundred and fifty five bodies were found buried inside Father dominic Kataribaabo’s house. And in pit latrines outside.
Police suspect the victims had been systematically killed since early January. The corpses were cemented under the floors of the house. Mealies were planted over the outside graves.
Barely twenty metres away, is the house of father Dominic's older brother. Harusen Oworyanawe lives in abject poverty. He sacrificed his own youth to pay for his younger brother's theology studies in America. He and his wife have no money to leave the area which they believe is now haunted by spirits.
Even local politicians claim they never knew of the murders.
Father Dominic also deceived his own nephew. He sold this house to him just before the Kanungu killings. Little did Bart Bainomukama know of its grisly contents. He believes Father Dominic wanted to kill him by inviting him to Kanungu.
It’s hard to believe that no-one ever suspected the cult leaders. It now seems that Father Dominic abused the ignorance of the extremely religious community.
All the activities of the cult were aimed at keeping their deeds secret. Families belonging to the cult were split up… to stop them communicating… or asking any questions. With their children in the clutches of the leaders, parents were kept hostage…
Ad break
Uganda is looking for answers… and scapegoats.
More than 70% of the population is devoutly Christian. The Catholic church has the largest following. It now stands accused: why didn’t it warn its members against the cult? Why did so many devout Catholics leave the church and flock to the cult?
In Uganda, the born-again churches are mushrooming. There’s no control over these churches – or their activities. In the capital of Kampala alone, there are hundreds of charismatic churches. They lure believers with fire and brimstone sermons and promises of miracles. Often, their target is the unemployed.
After the Kanungu incident, many born-gain churches distanced themselves from the “The Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God”. But their fanaticism and unconventional methods are now also being questioned… as fears grow that they too might be a breeding ground for extremists.
But the harshest questions are left for government. Why didn't it prevent the death of more than a thousand of its people? Did it allow freedom of religion to be abused?
With a pending referendum, the cult killings couldn't have come at a worst time for government. Ugandans have to decide on June the 29th whether they want a multi-party democracy… to replace Pres. Yoweri Museveni's one party government.
Uganda has abundant freedom of speech. Museveni's critics and opponents are making the most of it… using the tragedy as a political football.
After the horror and religious persecution of Idi Amin's reign, the present government guaranteed absolute freedom of worship.
The security organs were caught by surprise.... and there’s been a huge public outcry over their failure to detect the murder plot. The cash-strapped police say it's nearly impossible to investigate churches in a country as religious as Uganda... there are simply too many....
Three months after the Kanungu fire, the people of Uganda are still grappling to make sense of the tragedy. They can’t understand why they were betrayed by religious leaders… the very people who were supposed to look after their spiritual well-being. But there are several theories about the cult-leader’s motives ...
The cult leaders have all disappeared. Police are offering two million Ugandan shillings for information on their whereabouts.
In a new twist, they suspect that Dominic Kataribaabo and Credonia Mwerinde have fled to Europe. The other murderers might have perished in the Kanungu fire.
But the cult is not dead. A survivor of the massacre is again recruiting followers…
The horror of the slayings has done nothing to weaken the faith of ordinary Ugandans.
Father Dominic's brother and his wife still cling to their religion .... they have nothing else!