The Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God (MRTC or MRTCG) was a religious movement founded by Credonia Mwerinde and Joseph Kibweteere in southwestern Uganda, notorious for the mass death of several hundred members of the group in a mass suicide or mass murder in the year 2000. It was formed in 1989 after Mwerinde and Kibweteere claimed that they had seen visions of the Virgin Mary.
On 17 March 2000, followers of the religious movement died in a fire and a series of poisonings and killings, which were initially considered a mass suicide. That initial suspicion was revised to mass murder when hundreds of other bodies were discovered in pits at sites related to the movement that had died at least weeks prior to the event; the official conclusion was a mass murder, though this has been disputed by other commentators who argue that it was actually a mass suicide. Over 300 people died in the fire, while over 400 were discovered in the pits.
Background
The recent past of Uganda had been marked with political and social turmoil. The rule of Idi Amin, the AIDS pandemic, and the Ugandan Bush War wreaked havoc across the country. An example of this phenomenon was the Christian resistance group, the Holy Spirit Movement, which fought against the government of Yoweri Museveni. The AIDS epidemic in Uganda has been viewed by scholars as particularly influential in its development; at the time, Uganda had one of the highest rates of HIV/AIDS infection in the world.
The MRTC has been classified as an African-initiated church; a highly diverse category of religious movements that stem from different Christian traditions. However, historian of religion Jean-François Mayer has argued that they cannot be only understood within this framework, because the group had connections to a network of Marian visionaries and many of its leaders were Catholic clergymen. Marian apparitions were a popular phenomenon in Uganda and surrounding countries at the time.
A former member of another unrelated sect, Paul Ikazire, would explain his motivation to join the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God, "We joined the movement as a protest against the Catholic Church. We had good intentions. The church was backsliding, the priests were covered in scandals and the AIDS scourge was taking its toll on the faithful. The world seemed poised to end."
Beliefs
The goals of the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God were to obey the Ten Commandments and preach the word of Jesus Christ. They taught that to avoid damnation in the apocalypse, one had to strictly follow the Commandments. The emphasis on the Commandments was so strong that the group discouraged talking, for fear of breaking the Ninth Commandment, "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor", and on some days communication was only conducted in sign language. Fasting was conducted regularly, and only one meal was eaten on Fridays and Mondays. Sex was forbidden, as was soap. New members were required to study it and be trained in its text, reading it as many as six times. They also taught that the Virgin Mary had a special role in the end, and that she also communicated with their leadership. They held themselves to be akin to Noah's Ark: a ship of righteousness in a sea of depravity. In 1989 the two met and formed the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God, with the mission to spread the Virgin's message about the apocalypse. The group grew rapidly and also attracted several defrocked Catholic priests and nuns who worked as theologians, rationalizing messages from the leadership. Two of the arrivals were the excommunicated priests Paul Ikazire and Dominic Kataribabo. The group had been called an inward-looking movement that wore matching uniforms and restricted their speech to avoid saying anything dishonest or sinful.
Middle years
Relations with wider Kanungu society was initially tense; in October 1993 the group was kicked out by villagers, though this was only temporary. The sect grew in importance with the arrival of Dominic Kataribabo, a respected and popular priest with a PhD from a university in the United States. In order to obtain more funds for the increasing number of disciples, Kibweteere sold his three other properties, car and milling machines.
As the new millennium approached preparations for the end mounted. In 1999, the state-owned New Vision newspaper ran an interview with a teenage member. He said, "The world ends next year. There is no time to waste. Some of our leaders talk directly to God. Any minute from now, when the end comes, every believer who will be at an as yet undisclosed spot will be saved." and payments to the Church decreased dramatically. Ugandan police believe that some members, who had been required to sell their possessions and turn over the money to the Movement, rebelled and demanded the return of their money.
After the passing of 1 January 2000 without an apocalypse, many became disillusioned with the group and another date was chosen by leaders for the apocalypse to occur, with 17 March 2000 being announced, which The New York Times reported the leaders said would come "with ceremony, and finality". This version of events has been criticised, most notably by Irving Hexham. A Ugandan source states that even as of 2007 "no one can really explain the whys, hows, whats, where, when, et cetera." Minutes after the members arrived at the party, nearby villagers heard an explosion, and the building was gutted in an intense fire that killed all 530 in attendance. The windows and doors of the building had been boarded up to prevent people from leaving.
Four days after the church fire, police investigated Movement properties and discovered hundreds of bodies at sites across southern Uganda. though a 2020 BBC report suggested that the bodies had accumulated over several years. In a normal setting, an incident of such magnitude and more so the manner in which it was carried out, should have attracted a substantial amount of research interest”.
The initial suspicion that all of the members died in a mass suicide was revised to mass murder when hundreds of other bodies were discovered in pits at sites related to the movement that had died at least weeks prior to the event, some with signs of strangulation while others had stab wounds. At least 778 people died in total. As of 2024 they have not been located and no-one has been prosecuted in connection to the massacre. The 48-acre plot of land used by the cult has been incorporated into a tea plantation, but the owner has announced plans to create a memorial on parts of the property.