But, as at Kabumba, conditions for children were atrocious and they were subject to the arbitrary whims of Credonia and other leaders. And they would force the children to pray outside at night with nothing to cover their bodies. Cult experts find descriptions of the cult's practices uncanny, almost as if the leaders had sat down and read a book on how to set up a cult. Deprived of food and sleep, cut off from the outside world and each other by the rule of silence, isolated from other family members, confused, intimidated, cult members were completely vulnerable. Mistreatment of children is particularly common.
Children are a problem to cults.
They are a strain on resources and are of no use. The cult's central message was that the end of the world was imminent and that cult members only would be saved. But by the late 1990s Credonia had already predicted the end of the world on at least two occasions and members were growing restless. Former member Paulina Zikanga remembers that during courses at Kanungu there were special sessions when new recruits were allowed to talk and ask questions. Credonia would get furious.