International
Learning Center in Nairobi
Resources
& Links
US Task
Force Members
Kenyan Task
Force Members
2005
East Africa Travel Grants
2004 East
Africa Travel Grants
2003 East
Africa Travel Grants
2002
East Africa Travel Grants
2001
East Africa Travel Grants
2002 Seminar in
Nairobi
2001 Seminar in
Nairobi
2000 Seminar in
Nairobi
Global Partners in East Africa
Emmanuel
Twesigye, Ohio Wesleyan University
Phone Number 740-368-3827
I left for Uganda on June 22nd and returned on September 10, 2004. I
traveled in East Africa, and spent most of the time in Uganda. I had conducted
research there in the Spring of 2002 supported by a TEW grant. I returned
there in the Summer months of 2003 on a GLCA travel Grant. The research
task was to investigate the largest number of Christian mass suicides
and doomsday cult murders ever recorded in history. These apocalyptic
and millenarian Christian fundamentalist Catholic murders and suicides
took place in Uganda on March 17, 2000 in Kanungu, South-Western Uganda.
Notably, Kanungu is a remote rural location in Southern Uganda. It is
located near both politically and militarily volatile border of the Congo
and Rwanda. The horrendous genocide of the Tutsi people in Rwanda in 1994
and the current conflicts of Rwanda, Uganda and Congo in the Eastern Region
of the Democratic Republic of Congo form part of the military, security
concern, political and cultural complexity of this region. Kanungu is
also located near the Bwindi Forest and National Park where the Interahamwe
rebels from Rwanda kidnaped, terrorized and murdered about a dozen European
and American tourists in 1998. Therefore, there were security concerns
that required me to hire security guards for protection.
It was necessary for me to verify data gathered on previous visits and
re-interview some people in order to check the accuracy of recording and
interpretation of previous data. This information is important since it
provides the important historical material for understanding the globally
significant phenomenon of the apocalyptic Catholic Mariologist Movement
and hundreds of cult-related deaths in Uganda. Although the deaths took
place in this remote and dangerous place in Africa, they remain important
to the global Church and studies in religion since they represent the
highest recorded numbers of cult and apocalyptic related deaths ever recorded.
I had the necessary local contacts, and the essential cultural, religious
and linguistic tools to undertake the investigation and accomplish it
successfully, when compared to my Western academic colleagues who lack
these qualifications. As a result, one of the main problems has been lack
of interest among the Western scholars because these events took place
in rural Africa, rather than the West. Nevertheless, many people have
already expressed great interest in the material and they wish to buy
the books as soon as they are completed and published.
I made some arrangements to ensure safe travel and accommodation. They
were costly, but necessary in order to avoid abduction or violent robbery.
The cost for renting a truck included the driver and the truck attendant.
I also had to buy fuel for the vehicle. Fuel in Uganda and the surrounding
areas was about $5 dollars for a premium gallon of gasoline. Fuel cost
was much more on the black market in upcountry areas where there were
no gas stations. Understandably, there were no receipts given for the
services.
I needed a safe, convenient and quiet place to read the published materials
in my area of research. I spent a lot of time in the newspaper archives
in order to catch up. In addition, I also gathered some additional information
about the related New Religious Movements, including the ABarangi and
Bisaka's movement of the AKatonda Omu Oyinza Byona (One Almighty God).
I also read material about Kony's Lord's Resistance Army's atrocious activities
which are committed in the name of God in Northern Uganda and proposed
terms of surrender.
These undesirable and oppressive conditions of:
Poverty,
Serious diseases, especially the high incidences of malaria and HIV/AIDS=
related deaths,
Many years of military repression,
Violence, and
Civil wars have resulted in the dreadful state of angst that is characterized
by:
- political chaos,
- insecurity,
- economic hardships,
- existential anxiety,
- despair and hopelessness.
The tragic conditions of political and economic chaos and both personal
and collective insecurity have made Uganda a fertile ground for extremist
and destructive religious fanaticism, cults, radical political and violent
religious movements.
I also updated my information concerning HIV/AIDS and the new programs
of treatment and prevention. I will be presenting a research paper in
November to fellow scholars at the American Academy of Religion annual
meeting on the topic of AChurch, State and the Ethics of HIV/AIDS Prevention
Programs in Uganda. Therefore, this field research trip to Uganda has
accomplished many professional goals. The only major setback was the fact
that I could not gain access to Alice Lakwena both in Kenya and Uganda.
The government security officers refused to grant me permission to interview
her. They advised me to wait until she had Abeen processed by the intelligence
and security forces and returned to the lawful status of a law abiding
citizen in Uganda.
I also found no evidence to support Robert Snow's claim that the leaders
of The Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God had
escaped to Kenya and started a new apocalyptic Movement called AChoma.
Robert Snow made this claim in his recent book called, Deadly Cults: The
Crimes of the True Believers (Westport: Praeger, 2003).
In matters of Church and State, it is self-evident that when compared
to the rest of Africa, Uganda has a unique political, cultural and religious
context that promotes the rise, growth and proliferation of the religious
cults and religiously based destructive political movements. The examples
of this scenario include Alice Lakwena's Holy Spirit Movement (Catholic),
Joseph Kony's Lord's Resistance Army (Catholic), Joseph Kibwetere's Movement
for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God (Catholic), and the
Tabliq Muslims' Democratic Allied Forces (for the Liberation of Uganda).
The working hypothesis is that most of these movements and their members
are extensions of the disenfranchised former Democratic Party (Catholic).
For instance, Joseph Kibwetere the founder of the Movement for the Restoration
of the Ten Commandments of God was a disillusioned and disgruntled Roman
Catholic lay leader, a politician and former leader of the Democratic
Party (DP) Branch in Mbarara and Ntungamo districts. Field research has
confirmed that my hypothesis is supported by evidence for it.
| home | task
forces | africa
| central europe &
russia | turkey
|
| web board
| opportunities board | contact
| consortial partners
|
| acm | acs
| glca |
