Armageddon in Kanugu

Hundreds of followers in the tiny southwestern Ugandan village followed Joseph Kibweteere -- their sect leader and "prophet" -- into death. Even dousing their children in gasoline, they lit themselves all on fire.

But the facts of the case help little in seeking answers as to why people are capable of such a thing and why it happened in Uganda.

In other cases of cult mass suicides, such as the Jonestown incident in Guyana, members said they were initially attracted to their guru by the romantic idea of fleeing society and giving up worldly possessions.

But that is not the case in Uganda, where the government has neither the money nor political clout to improve the lives of individuals. Forgotten by their leaders, poverty stricken Ugandans, instead, turn to religion for safety and security.

And because the state leaves Ugandans without hope, they are left vulnerable to sometimes maniacal religious leaders offering spiritual healing through dangerous cults. In the case of Kibweteere, he offered his sect an alternative reality that led to gruesome death.

-- Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Munich, Germany