{"id":29121,"date":"2022-04-04T16:27:01","date_gmt":"2022-04-04T16:27:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/bbc-investigates-cult-churches-in-uganda"},"modified":"2022-04-04T16:35:02","modified_gmt":"2022-04-04T16:35:02","slug":"bbc-investigates-cult-churches-in-uganda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/bbc-investigates-cult-churches-in-uganda","title":{"rendered":"BBC investigates cult churches in Uganda"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Uganda. <\/strong><\/span>Twenty-two years since the death of 778 members of the cultic Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God in Kanungu District, BBC Africa Eye has exposed how new pastors exploit their followers for profit and power in Uganda.<\/p>\n

In a report by Mr Peter Macjob, a BBC investigative reporter, that is to air today on the UK public broadcaster, former aides in prominent local churches detailed how they participated in conjuring miracles to win the flock, turning some into victims of rogue pastors.<\/p>\n

ALSO READ:<\/b><\/p>\n

Kanungu inferno: Suspect speaks out 10 years later<\/p>\n

BBC Africa Eye interviewed one George William Asiimwe, a senior leader in the Faith of Unity for more than 20 years, who told them: \u201cWhen I read the characteristics of a cult, I discovered that we actually belonged to a cult.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Asiimwe told BBC Africa Eye that things were made up; \u201cthings we used to concoct, but they did not harm anyone directly. We wanted to sustain our faith [and following]. That\u2019s why we concocted them\u201d.<\/p>\n

BBC Africa Eye put these claims to Faith of Unity, but the church declined to comment.<\/p>\n

Faith of Unity was led by Omukama Bisaka who, until he died last year, held himself out as a deity.<\/p>\n

The Omukama Bisaka\u2019s teachings reject the Bible, which they deride as a book the Europeans introduced to distort the minds of Africans.<\/p>\n

ALSO READ:<\/b><\/p>\n

Kanungu massacre: How government missed the red flags<\/p>\n

The leaders and followers follow the teaching and writings of their former leader Bisaka, whom they consider their God.<\/p>\n

Pastor Rodgers Atwebembeire, who researches new religious movements across East Africa, told the BBC Africa Eye in the report shared in advance exclusively with the Daily Monitor, that leaders of the movements are dictatorial.<\/p>\n

Issue<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir word is as authoritative as the Bible. When they speak, God has spoken. Their followers are expected to obey them without question,\u201d Pastor Atwebembeire said in the report.<\/p>\n

ALSO READ:<\/b><\/p>\n

Cult members counted forcibly<\/p>\n

BBC Africa Eye also talked to a family who opened up their home to a pastor and his wife.<\/p>\n

The pastor, in accounts previously reported by this newspaper, was later accused of murdering the host couple\u2019s four-year-old daughter in alleged ritual sacrifice with an intention to get more followers for his church.<\/p>\n

The pastor and several others are currently on remand on murder charges.<\/p>\n

The mother of the deceased child told BBC Africa Eye: \u201cWhen you looked at him [the pastor], you would think he was a man of God. He used to praise, worship, and clap his hands. He would pretend to be spiritual, but it was all a lie.\u201d<\/p>\n

The BBC Africa Eye report, based on claims by some of the interviewees, concludes that secularism and humanism are on the rise in Uganda, a predominantly Christian country.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Uganda<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Uganda. Twenty-two years since the death of 778 members of the cultic Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God in Kanungu District, BBC Africa Eye has exposed how new pastors exploit their followers for profit and power in Uganda. In a report by Mr Peter Macjob, a BBC investigative reporter, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":29120,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3,8],"tags":[233,240,234],"class_list":["post-29121","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","category-homepage-english","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-uganda","tag-uganda"],"yoast_head":"\nBBC investigates cult churches in Uganda - Uganda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Twenty-two years since the death of 778 members of the cultic Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of Go ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/bbc-investigates-cult-churches-in-uganda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BBC investigates cult churches in Uganda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Twenty-two years since the death of 778 members of the cultic Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of Go ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/bbc-investigates-cult-churches-in-uganda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Uganda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-04-04T16:27:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-04-04T16:35:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2022\/04\/img-624b1e1e43e7b.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"688\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/bbc-investigates-cult-churches-in-uganda#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/bbc-investigates-cult-churches-in-uganda\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"BBC investigates cult churches in Uganda\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-04-04T16:27:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-04-04T16:35:02+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/bbc-investigates-cult-churches-in-uganda\"},\"wordCount\":487,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/bbc-investigates-cult-churches-in-uganda#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2022\/04\/img-624b1e1e43e7b.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Uganda\",\"uganda\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"community\",\"homepage-english\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/bbc-investigates-cult-churches-in-uganda#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/bbc-investigates-cult-churches-in-uganda\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/bbc-investigates-cult-churches-in-uganda\",\"name\":\"BBC investigates cult churches in Uganda - 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