# Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God · The Cult Dossier · The Atlas · The Congregation of Tomorrow

Source: https://congregationoftomorrow.org/atlas/library/cults/076-movement-for-the-restoration-of-the-ten-commandments-of-god/ · The Congregation of Tomorrow · the Atlas · language: en
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The Cult Dossier · No. 076 · Apocalyptic / Doomsday
Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God
MRTCG
1989 – 17 March 2000 · Kanungu, Rukungiri District, southwestern Uganda
VIII. THE 1990s — THE MILLENNIUM APPROACHES
Fully religious — Catholic-derived Marian apocalyptic sect
### Who led it
### What it worshipped and taught
### Who was in it
### How it ended, or where it stands
### The dead
### Of note
### Its timeline
- 1989 Mwerinde's visions begin; she joins with Kibweteere, whose wife later described the group taking over their home.
- 1992–1999 Compound established at Kanungu; membership grows to several thousand. Local officials receive complaints about children being kept from school and about property transfers, but take no action.
- 31 December 1999 The predicted end of the world does not arrive. Leaders announce it has been rescheduled to 31 December 2000, then abruptly to 17 March 2000. Members begin to demand their money and property back.
- Early March 2000 Members are instructed to sell remaining possessions and settle debts. A feast is held with slaughtered cattle and crates of soft drinks — described afterwards as a farewell party.
- 17 MARCH 2000 THE KANUNGU FIRE. Roughly 530 people gather in the church at Kanungu. The doors and windows are nailed shut from the outside. The building is doused with petrol and set alight. There are no survivors and no attempt to escape is evident.
- 24 March – April 2000 Police begin excavating other MRTCG properties. MASS GRAVES are found at Buhunga, Rugazi, Rushojwa and at Father Kataribabo's house in Rugazi, where 155 bodies are found under a freshly cemented floor. Victims had been poisoned, strangled or stabbed, many weeks BEFORE the fire. FOUR DAYS AFTER THE FIRE police had counted 500 bodies, with spokesman ASUMANI MUGENYI estimating a possible 600. As the mass graves were opened the count kept climbing. THE TWO FIGURES ON THE RECORD DISAGREE. On 31 MARCH 2000 the police spokesman ERIC NAIGAMBI gave 924 AND CLIMBING, with a fifth compound still unsearched; on 20 JULY 2000 the police gave a FINAL TOLL OF 780 and said it might be higher still. The later, lower figure is the one this file leads with, but the earlier count is what most reference works still carry.
- 2000–present Kibweteere, Mwerinde and Kataribabo are all believed dead in the fire, but no bodies were ever positively identified. INTERPOL red notices were issued for Kibweteere and Mwerinde. THE CASE HAS NEVER BEEN SOLVED. No one has ever been prosecuted.
### Its people
### Credonia Mwerinde
the Programmer
Co-founder and principal visionary, Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God · born c.1952 – presumed dead 17 March 2000 · active 1989–2000
Before the law. NEVER CHARGED. An INTERPOL red notice was issued. NO ONE HAS EVER BEEN PROSECUTED FOR ANY OF THE 778+ DEATHS.
Where things stand. PRESUMED DEAD IN THE KANUNGU FIRE OF 17 MARCH 2000, BUT NO BODY WAS EVER POSITIVELY IDENTIFIED AND THE CASE IS FORMALLY UNRESOLVED. Ugandan police have said they continued to work with Interpol on the leadership. RE-CHECKED 2026-09-07: nothing consulted resolves it either way, and the twenty-six-year-old ambiguity is itself the finding — 780 people died and nobody has been convicted of anything.
- 1989 Claimed apparitions begin at Nyabugoto.
- 1992–99 Compound built at Kanungu; several thousand members.
- 31 December 1999 Predicted apocalypse fails; members demand restitution.
- Early March 2000 Killings begin at other properties; bodies later found in mass graves.
- 17 MARCH 2000 The Kanungu church is nailed shut, doused in petrol and burned with about 530 people inside.
Checked 2026-09-07
### Joseph Kibweteere
—
Co-founder, Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God · 1932 – presumed dead 17 March 2000 · active 1989–2000
Before the law. NEVER CHARGED. An INTERPOL red notice was issued. NO BODY WAS POSITIVELY IDENTIFIED.
Where things stand. PRESUMED DEAD IN THE FIRE OF 17 MARCH 2000 AND OFFICIALLY UNRESOLVED. RE-CHECKED 2026-09-07: he has never been formally accounted for, was described by Ugandan authorities as the country's most wanted man, and police stated they were working with Interpol to trace him. NO ONE HAS EVER BEEN CONVICTED OF ANY OF THE 780 DEATHS.
- 1989 Joins with Mwerinde after her claimed apparitions.
- 1992–99 The Kanungu compound is built on his land; several thousand members join.
- 31 December 1999 The predicted apocalypse fails; members begin demanding restitution.
- 17 MARCH 2000 Presumed to die in the Kanungu fire with about 530 others.
Checked 2026-09-07
### Dominic Kataribabo
—
Theologian, Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God · 1936 – presumed dead 17 March 2000 · active 1990s–2000
Before the law. NEVER CHARGED. Presumed dead.
Where things stand. PRESUMED DEAD IN THE FIRE OF 17 MARCH 2000; NEVER IDENTIFIED. RE-CHECKED 2026-09-07: unchanged, and as with the other leaders the presumption has never been converted into a finding.
- 1990s Joins the movement; provides its theology.
- Early 2000 Killings begin at outlying properties, weeks before the fire.
- 17 March 2000 The Kanungu fire.
- April 2000 155 BODIES FOUND under the cemented floor of his house at Rugazi.
Checked 2026-09-07
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