Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God

Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God
Founder
Origin1989
Separated fromCatholic Church
Defunct2000

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 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.