Credonia Mwerinde

Credonia Mwerinde was the high priestess and co-founder of the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God.

Biography

Early life

Not much is known about Credonia's past. The only thing that is known is that she was born in 1952 in Kateete, Nyabugoto in the Kanugu district, Uganda and that she worked for a short period of time as a shopkeeper, brewer of banana beer, and a sex worker. Mwerinde was also a member of a religious group who was devoted to the Virgin Mary.

Creation of the movement

Credonia founded the movement after she had visions of the Virgin Mary near Kibweteere's house in Rwashamaire, Uganda. In 1984, even the other founder of the movement, Joseph Kibweteere, also had visions of the Virgin Mary. So, the two met and founded the movement in 1989. The group grew rapidly and also attracted several defrocked Catholic priests and nuns who worked as theologians, rationalizing messages from the leadership.

Spread of the Movement

Credonia's Movement started growing very rapidly after the 1990s. The Movement began buying property and expanded its influence through indoctrination and slavery.

The end of the Movement and disappearance

On the 17th March 2001, the vast majority of the Movement's members died in a fire held during a party. However, Mwerinde is assumed to have survived the church conflagration. Ugandan authorities believe that she left the sect's Kanangu compound in the early hours of the 17th March. In April 2000, police issued an international warrant for her arrest in connection to the sect killings.

Trivia

• Mwerinde claimed to receive messages from the Virgin Mary through a hidden telephone system that communicated through everyday objects.
• In September 2011, Mwerinde was awarded an Ig Nobel Prize for "teaching the world to be careful when making mathematical assumptions and calculations".