The Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God

ABOUT THIS EPISODE

Ugandan cult The Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God was one of the deadliest in world history, with the number of people who died similar to the infamous Jonestown massacre, and some say even more.

The mastermind behind this cult? A woman named Credonia Mwerinde, who said she was receiving messages directly from the Virgin Mary.

CW: references to physical and emotional abuse, controlling behaviours, and murder. Please consider whether you would like to listen on this basis. Content is not suitable for children.

If you have been personally affected by involvement in a cult, or would like to support those who have been, you can find support or donate to Cult Information and Family Support if you’re in Australia (via www.cifs.org.au), and you can find resources outside of Australia with the International Cultic Studies Association (via www.icsahome.com).

If you or someone you know is in crisis or needs support right now, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 in Australia, or find your local crisis centre via the International Association for Suicide Prevention website at www.iasp.info.

EPISODE LINKS

• Report of the Parliamentary Committee on Defence and Internal Affairs on the Petition by the Orphans of the Victims of the Kanungu Church Infernos — Parliament of the Republic of Uganda, July 2014
• The Kanungu Massacre: The Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God Indicted — The Uganda Human Rights Commission Periodical Report, 2002
• Uganda Cult’s Mystique Finally Turned Deadly — by Ian Fisher, New York Times, 2 April 2000
• The preacher and the prostitute — BBC News, 29 March 2000
• Mary’s Flames: The Long Road to Horror in Kanungu — The East African, 8 February 2001
• The power behind the cult — The Telegraph (UK), 2 April 2000
• Violence and New Religious Movements — edited by James R. Lewis, Oxford University Press 2011
• A party, prayers, then mass suicide — by Anne Borzello, The Guardian, 20 March 2000
• Kibwetere used HIV scourge to lure victims – new book reveals — by Stephen Wandera, Daily Monitor, 30 October 2016
• Priestess of Death — by Lara Santoro, Newsweek International, 6 August 2000
• Prophecy’s Price — by Karl Vick, Washington Post, 1 April 2000
• Uganda Toll Tops Jonestown — by Craig Nelson, Associated Press, 31 March 2000
• Cult leader said to have stolen funds — by Philip Sherwell, The Age, 3 April 2000
• Cult death toll hits 724; Interpol to issue warrants — by Craig Nelson, Associated Press, 31 March 2000
• Ex-Uganda Sect Member Speaks Out — by Craig Nelson, Associated Press, 3 April 2000
• Uganda cult the most deadly in history — Uganda Newsline, 3 April 2000
• Uganda Survivor Tells of Questions When World Didn't End — by Ian Fisher, The New York Times, 3 April 2000
• Sect’s handbook had seductive and deadly message — by Henry Wasswa, Associated Press, 5 April 2000
• 530 in Uganda Church Burned Alive, Tests Show — Los Angeles Times, 5 April 2000
• Fateful Meeting Led to Founding of Cult in Uganda — by Henri E. Cauvin, New York Times, 27 March 2000
• Cult leader was psychiatric patient — BBC World News, 7 April 2000
• Obituary: Idi Amin — by Patrick Keatley, The Guardian, 18 August 2003
• Cult in Uganda Poisoned Many, Police Say — The New York Times, 28 July 2000
• A Timely Message from Heaven: The End of the Present Times — by The Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God, 1996
• Doomsday movements in Africa: Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God — by P M Venter, HTS Theological Studies, Vol. 62, No. 1, 2006, pp. 155-173
• Kibwetere is Uganda’s most wanted man — New Vision, 17 March 2012
• Ugandan cult had links with Australia — by Anna Borzello, BBC News, 19 April 2000
• Kanungu, Nyabingi and the Virgin Mary — by Richard Vokes, East African, 8 July 2002
• A year after cult mass murder, some see the ghosts of the victims — by Henry Wasswa, Associated Press, 16 March 2001
• Ugandan Villagers Avoiding Cult Massacre Site — by Ian Fisher, The New York Times, 6 July 2000
• The Uganda Cult Tragedy: A Private Investigation — by Bernard Atuhaire, Janus Publishing Company, 2003
• EXCLUSIVE: Kibwetere Kanungu Massacre Report Leaks — ChimpReports, 16 July 2014
• Ghosts of Kanungu: Fertility, Secrecy & Exchange in the Great Lakes of East Africa — by Richard Vokes, Fountain Publishers, 2009
• Kanungu inferno: Suspect speaks out 10 years later — by Charles M. Mpagi, Daily Monitor, 20 November 2010
• Religious mass suicide or massacre? The Kanungu case — paper by Nathan Byamukama, Head of Department, Monitoring and Treaties, Uganda Human Rights Commission, 27 June 2005
• I Narrowly Survived the Kanungu Inferno — by Andrew Nkurunziza, The Monitor, 16 March 2007