True Crime-Paranormal-Conspiracy Theories Stories Part V #Wattys2023

Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God

The Movement for the Restoration ofthe Ten Commandments of God was a religious movement founded byCredonia Mwerinde and Joseph Kibweteere in southwestern Uganda. Itwas formed in 1989 after Mwerinde and Kibweteere claimed that theyhad seen visions of the Virgin Mary. The five primary leaders wereJoseph Kibweteere, Joseph Kasapurari, John Kamagara, DominicKataribabo, and Credonia Mwerinde.

In early 2000, followers of thereligious movement died in a fire and a series of poisonings andkillings that were initially considered a group suicide. It was laterdetermined to be a mass murder by the group's leaders after theirpredictions of the apocalypse failed to come about.[1] In theircoverage of that event, BBC News and The New York Times referred tothe Movement as a doomsday cult.

Beliefs

The goals of the Movement for theRestoration of the Ten Commandments of God were to obey the TenCommandments and preach the word of Jesus Christ. They taught that toavoid damnation in the apocalypse, one had to strictly follow theCommandments. The emphasis on the Commandments was so strong that thegroup discouraged talking, for fear of breaking the NinthCommandment, "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thyneighbor", and on some days communication was only conductedin sign language. Fasting was conducted regularly, and only one mealwas eaten on Fridays and Mondays. Sex was forbidden, as was soap.

Movement leaders declared that theapocalypse would occur on December 31, 1999. The group had a strongemphasis on an apocalyptic end time, highlighted by their booklet ATimely Message from Heaven: The End of the Present Time. New memberswere required to study it and be trained in its text, reading it asmany as six times. They also taught that the Virgin Mary had aspecial role in the end, and that she also communicated with theirleadership. They held themselves akin to Noah's Ark, a ship ofrighteousness in a sea of depravity.

The Movement developed a hierarchy ofvisionaries, topped by Mwerinde. Behind them were former priests whoserved as theologians and explained their messages. Although thegroup had split from the Catholic Church, had Catholic icons placedprominently, and defrocked priests and nuns in its leadership, tiesto the Church were only tenuous.

Background

The recent past of Uganda had beenmarked with political and social turmoil. The rule of Idi Amin, theAIDS pandemic, and the Ugandan Bush War wreaked havoc across thecountry. People became pessimistic and fatalistic, and theestablished Roman Catholic Church was backsliding, enveloped inscandals and the faithful were becoming dissatisfied. In this void,many post-Catholic groups formed in the late eighties as a confusedand traumatized populace turned to charismatic self-declared messiahswho renounced the authority of the government and the Church. Anexample of this phenomenon was the Christian resistance group, theHoly Spirit Movement, which fought against the government of YoweriMuseveni.

A former member of another unrelatedsect, Paul Ikazire, would explain his motivation to join the Movementfor the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God, "Wejoined the movement as a protest against the Catholic Church. We hadgood intentions. The church was backsliding, the priests were coveredin scandals and the AIDS scourge was taking its toll on the faithful.The world seemed poised to end."