Ugandan Doomsday Cult Surfaces In Kenya

By Tervil Okoko, PANA, 31 July 2000

NAIROBI, Kenya (PANA) - Suspected remnants of a Ugandan doomsday cult, the so-called Restoration of the Ten Commandments, have reportedly surfaced in Kenya and pulled a massive following in the Western Province.

The People's Daily, published in Nairobi, Monday reported that a religious group, toting similar beliefs that the doomsday cult conveyed in Uganda, was advising its members to sell their properties and share proceeds with other members.

Quoting a report from human rights groups operating in western Kenya and eastern Uganda, the paper warned in its lead story that the emerging religious group, calling itself 'Choma', could be a reincarnation of the northern Uganda sect that led to mass murder of over 1,000 people in April.

Choma is a Kiswahili word for burn.

The daily based its account on a report released in Uganda's eastern town of Mbale on 29 July by Valentiana Moses Oleico of the Uganda Human Rights Group and Western Kenya Human Rights Group executive director, Job Bwonya.

It quoted Oleico as saying that Choma had markedly similar beliefs and practices with the disbanded Kanungu- based sect.

Sect members wear red ties, (Odinga)round caps and white shirts. They prefer black trousers and say the uniforms bind them to the blood of Jesus.

According to the report, the cult members told officials of the two human rights groups that their leader was referred to as The Patron.

Joseph Kibwetere, who is on the run with some of his top aides, led the doomsday cult of Kanungu, northern Uganda. International warrants have been issued for their arrest.

The Choma group leaders teach that riches are earthly and, therefore, the group followers should sell all their property and share proceeds among themselves.

Human rights officials revealed that after three months research, their two organisations established that the cult in Kenya is attracting members daily due to its strange beliefs and practices.

One of its closely guarded secrets is the identity of the sect leader. It is not to be revealed until after 31 December, when sect members believe the world will come to an end.

Government security officials in the Western Province have confirmed receiving a copy of the report from the human rights groups but downplayed its concerns.

Bungoma district police commander, David Kyalo, insisted that Choma was a genuine denomination and not a cult. He said people might have been confused by initiation activities of the Bukusu community, on the Kenyan-Ugandan border, that have picked up and will continue until end of August.

Kyalo, however, urged residents to volunteer information on the alleged cult's activities to the police and promised thorough investigation.

Twenty-two followers of the cult, interviewed by the human rights groups, are said to have confessed living in fear of being led to mass suicide by 31 December.

At least six of them reportedly confessed originating from Uganda though their strict religious code forbid them from being specific on the part of Uganda they came from.

Some of the practices which link Choma to the Ugandan doomsday cult include the claim that 31 December would mark the end of the world, selling all their property and sharing it with cult leaders, and belief that human beings should not toil, go to school or to hospital.

In a press statement released Monday, the two human rights groups have appealed to Kenya's internal security minister, Marsden Madoka, and police commissioner Philemon Abong'o, to "move in and save the people of western Kenya from mass suicide that may be occasioned by the cult".

The cult is said to be active in the western Kenya towns of Bungoma, Kakamega, Mumias, Busia and Webuye with its base in Lugari district.

Human rights groups estimate that the church has a membership of close to 20,000 including children who drop out of school soon after their parents join the sect.

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