Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 1, No. 2, 2002, Page 53
believe the leaders first killed dissidents at branch churches and then gathered followers in
the Kanungu church, which they then nailed shut and burned. Kibwetere and Mwerinde are
still on a Ugandan police wanted list, as are three others suspected of helping to organize
the mass killing: defrocked Catholic priest Dominic Kataribaabo, Father Joseph Kasapuraari,
and Ursula Limuhangi.
The government has not released a final report on its investigation. (AP, Internet, 5/29/02)
Nuwaubians
Nuwaubian Leader Held on Child Sexual Abuse Charges
Charges against Leader Detailed
FBI Agent Jalaine Ward has testified that United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors founder Dwight
York molested dozens of children, some as young as four, during the past nine years. The
agent says children told her they were forced to perform oral sex and other acts with York,
56, and his partner, Kathy Johnson, 33. (Two other women have also been indicted for
participation in the acts.) The children were photographed and videotaped engaging in
sexual acts and posing in sexually explicit positions. The abused children, who were treated
differently from those not involved in York‘s sexual activities, were allegedly forced to watch
pornographic cartoons. Some said they tried to hide in closets and under beds to avoid
York.
Life in Compound
Children in the Nuwubian‘s 476-acre compound were separated from their parents at an
early age, with visitation dictated by York, who also controlled devotees‘ money, food, and
clothing, dictated where they lived, and then they could enter and leave the compound. Men
could not speak with or have sex with women without his permission.
The United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors is a predominantly black, quasi-religious group
whose members live in a rural compound with architecture reminiscent of ancient Egypt,
with huge pyramids and a gate covered with hieroglyphics. Some of the group‘s literature
refers to York as its savior, or god, and as an extra-terrestrial from the planet ―Rizq.‖
(Augusta, Georgia, Chronicle, 5/14/02, Internet)
Scientology
Scientology Settles Suit by Ex-Member Wollersheim with $8.6 Million Check
The Church of Scientology handed over $8.6 million this week to resolve the lawsuit of a
former member who charged that the controversial church caused him to develop bipolar
disorder and nearly drove him to suicide.
The payment came nearly 22 years after Lawrence Wollersheim, 53, filed his 1980 suit, and
nearly 16 years after a California jury awarded him $30 million. In the intervening years,
the award was reduced on appeal to $2.5 million and went all the way to the U.S. Supreme
Court, where it was upheld in 1994. Meanwhile, the $2.5 million collected 10% interest and
eventually grew to $8,674,843.
Church officials said they paid the money because they wanted to put the matter behind
them. But critics of Scientology hailed the payment as a momentous event. ―This is an
absolute watershed,‖ said Arnie Lerma, 52, an ex-Scientologist who manages a Web site
devoted to critiquing the religion. Lerma said he hopes the award will convince other ex-
Scientologists to file their own lawsuits.
believe the leaders first killed dissidents at branch churches and then gathered followers in
the Kanungu church, which they then nailed shut and burned. Kibwetere and Mwerinde are
still on a Ugandan police wanted list, as are three others suspected of helping to organize
the mass killing: defrocked Catholic priest Dominic Kataribaabo, Father Joseph Kasapuraari,
and Ursula Limuhangi.
The government has not released a final report on its investigation. (AP, Internet, 5/29/02)
Nuwaubians
Nuwaubian Leader Held on Child Sexual Abuse Charges
Charges against Leader Detailed
FBI Agent Jalaine Ward has testified that United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors founder Dwight
York molested dozens of children, some as young as four, during the past nine years. The
agent says children told her they were forced to perform oral sex and other acts with York,
56, and his partner, Kathy Johnson, 33. (Two other women have also been indicted for
participation in the acts.) The children were photographed and videotaped engaging in
sexual acts and posing in sexually explicit positions. The abused children, who were treated
differently from those not involved in York‘s sexual activities, were allegedly forced to watch
pornographic cartoons. Some said they tried to hide in closets and under beds to avoid
York.
Life in Compound
Children in the Nuwubian‘s 476-acre compound were separated from their parents at an
early age, with visitation dictated by York, who also controlled devotees‘ money, food, and
clothing, dictated where they lived, and then they could enter and leave the compound. Men
could not speak with or have sex with women without his permission.
The United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors is a predominantly black, quasi-religious group
whose members live in a rural compound with architecture reminiscent of ancient Egypt,
with huge pyramids and a gate covered with hieroglyphics. Some of the group‘s literature
refers to York as its savior, or god, and as an extra-terrestrial from the planet ―Rizq.‖
(Augusta, Georgia, Chronicle, 5/14/02, Internet)
Scientology
Scientology Settles Suit by Ex-Member Wollersheim with $8.6 Million Check
The Church of Scientology handed over $8.6 million this week to resolve the lawsuit of a
former member who charged that the controversial church caused him to develop bipolar
disorder and nearly drove him to suicide.
The payment came nearly 22 years after Lawrence Wollersheim, 53, filed his 1980 suit, and
nearly 16 years after a California jury awarded him $30 million. In the intervening years,
the award was reduced on appeal to $2.5 million and went all the way to the U.S. Supreme
Court, where it was upheld in 1994. Meanwhile, the $2.5 million collected 10% interest and
eventually grew to $8,674,843.
Church officials said they paid the money because they wanted to put the matter behind
them. But critics of Scientology hailed the payment as a momentous event. ―This is an
absolute watershed,‖ said Arnie Lerma, 52, an ex-Scientologist who manages a Web site
devoted to critiquing the religion. Lerma said he hopes the award will convince other ex-
Scientologists to file their own lawsuits.
