Police in Kanungu district have closed a church for allegedly carrying out cult activities. "We are trying to stop their activities wherever they are," south-western Regional Police Commander Edward Ochom said on Monday.
He said the Apostles and Prophets Church of Jesus has its headquarters in Kisugu in Kampala and has six branches in Kanungu. He said the church started in Uganda around 1992.
Mr Ochom said that some members of the church claimed they had had a vision that a fellow worshipper, Mr Kahikiri of Kibimbiri church branch, would take them to heaven.
He said some of the worshippers had sold off their property. "If you have people having visions, we fear another Kibwetere," Ochom said. Joseph Kibwetere was the leader of the doomsday cult called the Restoration of the 10 Commandments of God that masterminded the mass deaths of about 500 followers in a church in Kanungu on March 17, 2000.
More than 500 others were exhumed from various mass graves, having been separately killed.
On February 2, police were tipped off that a similar cult was growing in Kanungu.
"We are checking their [followers] movements as we are investigating," Ochom said. "Our intention is not to close churches, but it's our duty to protect people by pre-empting any bad motive."