Branhamite Cult Members Killed in DRC

At least 32 people have been killed in a series of attacks in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), which is aligned with the Islamic State,[1] has brutally murdered several people in the town of Baeti-Vutchika in North Kivu. According to the authorities, at least eight of the victims were beheaded.

According to local sources, the killed believers belong to the so-called "Branhamite Christians", a group that originated in the United States, was founded by William Marrion Branham and has spread to various parts of the world, including Africa whose teaching denies the Trinity
- Agenzia Fides

Violence in the DRC is not new to the Branhamite sect. In 2018, Branhamite cult leader Theodore Mugalu, former DRC ambassador to Tanzania,[2] made headlines when his sect of Branhamites brutalized members of the Catholic church. Mugalu forced 145 Catholic priests and converts to undress and lie on the ground with their hands on their heads. Once prostrate, the cult members began to beat them.[3] At least six were killed.[4]

References

[1] AFRICA/DR CONGO - At least 32 people die in a series of attacks. 2024, Feb, 1. Fides. Accessed 2024, Feb, 2 from https://www.fides.org/en/news/74678-AFRICA_DR_CONGO_At_least_32_people_die_in_a_series_of_attacks. "2024/01/02 AFRICA/DR CONGO - At least 32 people die in a series of attacks According to local sources, at least three villages were attacked by armed groups allegedly linked to the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a group of Ugandan origin that has been aligned with the Islamic State for years (on the complex history of this group and its affiliation to the Islamic State, see Fides, 24/6/2023). Authorities reported that at least eight people were beheaded, five of them during a religious ceremony on Sunday, January 28, in the town of Baeti-Vutchika in North Kivu According to local sources, at least three villages were attacked by armed groups allegedly linked to the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a group of Ugandan origin that has been aligned with the Islamic State for years (on the complex history of this group and its affiliation to the Islamic State, see Fides, 24/6/2023). Authorities reported that at least eight people were beheaded, five of them during a religious ceremony on Sunday, January 28, in the town of Baeti-Vutchika in North Kivu."

[2] Leclercq, Hubert. DRC: The churches of revival called to the rescue by the power. 2018, Jan, 19. DRC: The churches of revival called to the rescue by the power. Accessed 2023, Jun, 27 from https://afrique-lalibre-be.translate.goog/13711/rdc-les-eglises-du-reveil-appelees-a-la-rescousse-par-le-pouvoir/?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en. "2018/19/01 DRC: The churches of revival called to the rescue by the power DRC: The churches of revival called to the rescue by the power. Accessed 2023, Jun 27 from https://afrique-lalibre-be.translate.goog/13711/rdc-les-eglises-du-reveil-appelees-a-la-rescousse-par-le-pouvoir/?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en. At the controls of this attempt to sabotage the new Catholic march announced for this Sunday, January 21 throughout the DRC, Pastor Théodore Mugalu, director of Kabila's civil house since 2003 and former DRC ambassador to Tanzania. A man responsible for managing the affairs of the family but also a fierce defender of maintaining power at all costs of Joseph Kabila Hubert Leclercq DRC: The churches of revival called to the rescue by the power. Accessed 2023, Jun 27 from https://afrique-lalibre-be.translate.goog/13711/rdc-les-eglises-du-reveil-appelees-a-la-rescousse-par-le-pouvoir/?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en. At the controls of this attempt to sabotage the new Catholic march announced for this Sunday, January 21 throughout the DRC, Pastor Théodore Mugalu, director of Kabila's civil house since 2003 and former DRC ambassador to Tanzania. A man responsible for managing the affairs of the family but also a fierce defender of maintaining power at all costs of Joseph Kabila."

[3] Leclercq, Hubert. DRC: The churches of revival called to the rescue by the power. 2018, Jan, 19. DRC: The churches of revival called to the rescue by the power. Accessed 2023, Jun, 27 from https://afrique-lalibre-be.translate.goog/13711/rdc-les-eglises-du-reveil-appelees-a-la-rescousse-par-le-pouvoir/?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en. "2018/19/01 DRC: The churches of revival called to the rescue by the power DRC: The churches of revival called to the rescue by the power. Accessed 2023, Jun 27 from https://afrique-lalibre-be.translate.goog/13711/rdc-les-eglises-du-reveil-appelees-a-la-rescousse-par-le-pouvoir/?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en. Taking advantage of the absence of the internet and social networks – cut off since Saturday to hamper the march of Christians and the reports on his repression – the minister indeed had these 145 people, including priests, filmed after having forced them to undress and lie on the ground with their hands on their heads – as they do in the Congo for thieves – assuring that this was proof that 'there is no peaceful march'. The minister received the support of other regime hawks, Pastor Théodore Mugalu, head of the Civil House of out-of-mandate President Joseph Kabila, and Joseph Kokonyangi, Deputy Secretary General of the Presidential Majority. But the video does not explain what they were doing on Minister Kabange Numbi's plot Hubert Leclercq DRC: The churches of revival called to the rescue by the power. Accessed 2023, Jun 27 from https://afrique-lalibre-be.translate.goog/13711/rdc-les-eglises-du-reveil-appelees-a-la-rescousse-par-le-pouvoir/?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en. Taking advantage of the absence of the internet and social networks – cut off since Saturday to hamper the march of Christians and the reports on his repression – the minister indeed had these 145 people, including priests, filmed after having forced them to undress and lie on the ground with their hands on their heads – as they do in the Congo for thieves – assuring that this was proof that 'there is no peaceful march'. The minister received the support of other regime hawks, Pastor Théodore Mugalu, head of the Civil House of out-of-mandate President Joseph Kabila, and Joseph Kokonyangi, Deputy Secretary General of the Presidential Majority. But the video does not explain what they were doing on Minister Kabange Numbi's plot."

[4] Cros, Marie. DRC: a minister denounces an 'attack' with... rosaries. 2018, Jan, 23. DRC: a minister denounces an 'attack' with. Accessed 2023, Jan, 27 from https://afrique-lalibre-be.translate.goog/14004/rdc-un-ministre-denonce-une-attaque-avec-des-chapelets/?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en. "2018/23/01 DRC: a minister denounces an 'attack' with... rosaries Marie Cros DRC: a minister denounces an 'attack' with... rosaries. Accessed 2023, Jan 27 from https://afrique-lalibre-be.translate.goog/14004/rdc-un-ministre-denonce-une-attaque-avec-des-chapelets/?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en. On Sunday, while a group of Christian walkers were trying to flee the shots fired at them (we deplore at least six dead)"