Rwanda
closes over 6,000 churches in bid for more control over religious communities
Rwandan government closed down over 6,000 churches and about
100 mosques
Author: Nurudeen Lawal
- The government said the affected churches and mosques are
those that fail to comply with building safety standards and other regulations
- The government is also proposing a legislation which will require pastors to
have a theology degree before starting their own churches so that they teach
correct doctrine Rwanda’s government has closed thousands of churches and
dozens of mosques as it seeks to assert more control over a vibrant religious
community whose sometimes makeshift operations have reportedly threatened the
lives of followers.
The Associated Press (AP) reports that President Paul Kagame
said he was shocked by the high number of churches in the “small East African
country.” “700 churches in Kigali? Are these boreholes (deep wells) that give
people water? I don’t think we have as many boreholes. Do we even have as many
factories? This has been a mess!,” he said of houses of worship in the nation’s
capital in March.
NAIJ.com gathered that Kagame said Rwanda does not need so
many houses of worship, claiming that such a high number is only fit for
bigger, more developed economies that have the means to sustain them.
The closures are however generating mixed reactions in
Rwanda, where human rights groups have long accused Kagame’s government of
clamping down on freedom of expression, which the president has denied. Six
Pentecostal pastors who protested the church closures were allegedly arrested
and accused of “illegal meetings with bad intentions.” Rwanda’s government said
churches that are being closed are those that failed to comply with building
safety standards. The government said it is taking other steps to oversee the
religious community in the largely Christian nation of 12 million people.
Alexis Nkurunziza, the president of the private Rwanda Religious Leaders Forum
said that there is a new proposed legislation which aims to regulate
faith-based organizations separately from civil society organizations. He said
suggestions from religious leaders soon will be forwarded to the Rwanda Law
Reform Commission for scrutiny and later to parliament. The legislation is
reportedly expected to be passed as the ruling party holds a majority of
parliamentary seats. The new legislation would require pastors to have a
theology degree before they start their own churches so that they teach correct
doctrine.
The aim is to reportedly regulate the Pentecostal churches
that often spring up under leaders who claim to have received a call to preach.
The majority of churches that have been closed are said to be small Pentecostal
prayer houses, with some preachers suspected of growing rich off often
impoverished followers. The authorities said some churches meet in tents or
houses that cannot accommodate crowds and noise pollution from nighttime
gatherings is a concern. Anastase Shyaka, the head of the Rwanda Governance
Board that regulates faith-based organizations, told the AP: “The prayer houses
were found in such poor physical conditions, and we are not targeting any
religion. “We are closing prayer houses of all different denominations and
asking them to meet existing health and safety standards for their followers.”
Local media in the capital have reported that over 6,000 churches have been
closed so far across the country, but Shaka said the actual number was still
being compiled. Shaka said that Rwanda’s government respects freedom of worship
but protecting lives of people comes first, adding that churches which meet the
required safety standards will be reopened. One new requirement for churches is
the installation of a lightning rod after a lightning strike in March killed 16
worshippers and injured 140 at a Seventh-Day Adventist church in the country’s
south. Mosques across Rwanda also have been reportedly affected. The leader of
the country’s Muslim community, Mufti Sheikh Salim Hitimana, told AP that about
100 have been closed. “We are now trying to fix what the government told us to
do,” he said. Some evangelical leaders said they support Rwanda’s crackdown,
saying that protecting the lives of churchgoers is important and having
qualified, trained leaders is necessary. “Government efforts to have churches
build better structures are welcome to all of us,” said Esron Maniragaba,
president of the Evangelical Free Church of Rwanda and a leader with the
Evangelical Alliance of Rwanda.
Some Rwandans also backed the government’s action adding that
government authorities should supervise churches and take action against
exploitative pastors. “Some pastors are motivated by greed and start churches
to defraud their followers,” said Charles Murinzi, who attends an Anglican
church in the capital.
BY SAHARAREPORTERS, NEW YORK APR 03, 2018