‘No Kanungu Arrests Yet’

Mar 18, 2002

TWO years after more than 700 followers of a doomsday cult were killed, Police say they have failed to make any arrests.

By Matthias Mugishaand AgenciesTWO years after more than 700 followers of a doomsday cult were killed, Police say they have failed to make any arrests.Police spokesman Asuman Mugenyi said all appeals and international warrants of arrest sent to national and international security agencies had yet to yield any results.Two of the leaders of the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God, Joseph Kibwetere, 70, and Credonia Mwerinde, 50, are believed to have survived the blaze in Kanungu, on March 17, 2000 and are still on the run.Another leader, Fr Dominic Kataribabo, 64, an ex-Roman Catholic priest, is believed to have died in the fire. At least 500 people died in the inferno. The rest were found buried on the church compound and at various cult sites around the country.“We do not have the slightest idea as to where the wanted persons live. They are still on the wanted list because we believe they are still on the run,” Mugenyi said, adding, “We maintain active contacts with Interpol and national security agencies.”Meanwhile, natural vegetation has already reclaimed the site that housed the cult’s headquarters.The buildings are slowly cracking and the statues that used to be in many of the houses are broken.The animal farm as well as the pineapple and sugar plantations left two years ago are no more.The bridge that connected the place to Kanungu town has collapsed. The ghostly site cannot even be reached by motorcycle although the stench from the human rot is gone.The cult leaders had told their followers that prior to the end of the world on December 31, 1999, “darkness would cover the world for three days from December 29. Once the world came to an end, only cult members gathered at their camp would be saved.”Ends

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