2000 Uganda mass deaths

On 17 March 2000, 778 members of the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God died in Uganda.[1] The theory that all of the members died in a mass suicide was changed to mass murder when decomposing bodies were discovered in pits with signs of strangulation while others had stab wounds.[2]

The group had diverged from the Roman Catholic Church in order to emphasize apocalypticism and alleged Marian apparitions.[3] The group had been called an inward-looking movement that wore matching uniforms and restricted their speech to avoid saying anything dishonest or sinful.[4][5]

On the suicide itself locals said they held a party at which 70 crates of soft drinks and three bulls were consumed.[6] This version of events has been criticized, most notably by Irving Hexham,[7] and a Ugandan source states that "no one can really explain the whys, hows, whats, where, when, etcetera."