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From the Jonestown 900+ mass-suicide to the burning of about 600 people in Uganda here are the 6 of the most disturbing cult suicide-murders in the world (Photos)

There is a story about a certain pastor name Sobrino Valdeci Picanto who was arrested and charged with rape after convincing his female followers that his penis contained holy milk.

Jonestown Massacre

While there are doubts about authenticity of this story and it has often been dismissed as a hoax or urban legend, there are well documented news stories about how toxic religion can be once it morphs into a full-blown cult.

Today we take a look at some of them:

1. Jonestown Massacre

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I’m pretty sure you have heard the phrase “Don’t drink the Kool-Aid.”. A phrase that means that do not completely buy into an idea or system, whether good or bad.

Well, this phrase originated from the infamous 1978 mass-suicide in Jonestown, Guyana.

On November 18, 1978, Jim Jones the leader of The Peoples Temple of the Disciples of Christ told his followers to drink grape-flavoured, cyanide-laced Kool-Aid. An incident that resulted to the death of 918 followers of the church in the South American jungle including children who were force-fed the lethal drink.

James Warren Jones officially known as Jim Jones through his very charismatic personality was able to lure the helpless and disenfranchised into this cult and was able to influence the adults into willingly take the drink. According to a survivor of the massacre, they used to have practice runs called White Nights for the mass suicide that left 300 children dead.

After the horrible death of his followers, James Warren Jones took a self-inflicted bullet to his right temple.

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2. The Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God

On March 17, 2000, about 530 people including about 78 children died in Kanungu, Rukingiri Uganda in a mass suicide/homicide executed by its leaders.

The church leaders of the breakaway Catholic group told their followers that the world would end as the millennium approached so they had to prepare themselves for the impending end. The followers sold off their property, confessed their sins, avoided sex and hardly ever talked to prepare themselves for the end. But Alas! Jan 2000 came and the world was still here, so the leaders decided to appease some of their revolting and doubtful members by declaring that in March, the world would truly end.

On that fateful day, members of the church gathered in the church, the building was doused in petrol and paraffin and down went the building together with its trusting followers. In the fire, a man lost his wife, 3 daughters and 16 grandchildren.

Other bodies amounting to 155 were unearthed from a pit in Kataribabo's backyard in Rugazi, while 234 more bodies were discovered in other sites. So in total, the breakaway Catholic group claimed about 919 people in it's wake, though the figures vary from various sites.

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Credonia Mwerinde, Joseph Kibweteere and other leaders of the lethal church founded the church after allegedly seeing a vision of Mary the Mother of Jesus who allegedly also told them to prepare for the end before the gory mass suicide.

3. The Fall Rivers Cult

While the stories above were based on Christianity, the Fall Rivers Cult was based on Satanism.

October 13, 1979. Doreen Levesque, a 17-year old lady was found bound with her body sexually abused. She also had stab wounds on her head, multiple skull and face fractures which the police believed was as a result of being stoned.

Later, 2 other prostitutes’ were also found to have died in the same way Doreen had died; raped, tortured and bashed to death.

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Investigations into the cases revealed a dark story, the three died in the hands of a satanic cult and they were offered as a sacrifice to Satan through their ruthless cult leader/pimp Carl Drew who claimed to be the son of Satan.

4. Philip Onyancha’s Cult-ic Murders

Behind the calm face and seemingly shy person showed in the media lay a very wicked soul who had caused unforgettable horror and murder in our country Kenya back in 2010.

The G4S’ watchmen’s killing spree that ended with the death of 19 people  including prostitutes and children was said to have been instigated by a cult leader. The cult leader said to have been a school teacher allegedly instructed Onyancha to kill 100 people and drink their blood .

5. Paul Magu Kills Family

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In late November 2014, 3 children, 5 year old Tiffany Muthoni,9 year old Allen and 8 year old Ryan went missing after their father took them from their Muthaiga Pipeline Estate home to go for ‘shopping’. The father came home without the children and their relatives launched a frantic search for the two kids.

About a week later, Tiffany’s mutilated body was found in Tatu City garden in Ruiru, Kiambu County by some farmers and a few days later Ryan and Allen were found around the same area.

Earlier on, Magu’s wife's dead body was found at Paradise Lost , Kiambu Road and Lawyer Magu ended his life when he jumped in front of a bus at the Thika-Garissa highway.

Their death had cult links according to the police investigating the case that had caused a media frenzy in our country Kenya.

Later on, a Pastor by the name Ann Wambui Wanyoro was arraigned at a Kiambu Court as she was believed to have encouraged Lawyer Magu’s suicide and the fact that some of Magu’s property had been transferred under her name did not help her case either.

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6.The Order of the Solar Temple

In 1984, Joseph Di Mambro and Luc Jouret started the infamous organization in Geneva, Switzerland.

Jouret who thought he was Jesus Christ frequently had sex with one of the female members of his church to allegedly prepare himself “the upcoming church ceremonies.” In addition the church was said to have asked their members for their hard-earned money and were forced to follow a strict code of conduct.

Sick of the church and all its ungodly ways, one of their members Tony Dutoit left only for him and his wife to be knifed to death in Canada.

Their son was found swathed in a plastic bag with a wooden stake through his chest as he was accused by Di Mambro of being the Anti-Christ.

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But the Di Mambro-Jouret reign of terror was far from over because soon 74 people ended up dead due to the church that employed both Christian and occult-like rituals.

The deaths were said to have been instigated by the leaders who felt that some of the members ‘should leave the earth prematurely’ since the world was about to end.

So some cult members committed suicide, others were ritualistically murdered, others drugged, some took a bullet to the head, others were suffocated with a bag on their head while others had been burned alive.

The two cult leaders were among the dead.

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Eyewitness? Submit your stories now via social or:

Email: news@pulselive.co.ke

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