Rwanda is part of East Africa’s “authoritarian drift”, according to Freedom House. The press and political activism are tightly restricted, and civil society is weak, according to Human Rights Watch. By 2014 and the 20th anniversary of the 1994 genocide, hardly a critical word was to be heard in the country. The country is deeply Christian – 44 per cent Catholic and 38 per cent Protestant – but the government keeps a rigorous registration regime. Public events and even night-time meetings are regulated; police in 2014 arrested several Pentecostal church leaders for forming an unauthorised branch of the Church. (Photo: Scott Chacon via Flickr; CC 2.0)
More than 8,000 Rwandan churches closed following government directive
The Rwanda Governance Board continues to close churches it says fail to meet requirements laid down at the beginning of the year. New requirements set in place for those congregations that want to continue ministry are also complicating efforts to comply. Many see the closures as part of an effort […]
Thousands of churches closed in Rwanda, as Cameroon considers following suit
Rwanda has closed thousands churches in the country since February for alleged “noise pollution” and failing to comply with building regulations. Now Cameroon – another majority-Christian country – is considering following suit. The call to shut down some of Cameroon’s Pentecostal churches follows reports of gross misconduct by a number […]
Rwanda: Six pastors arrested following shutdown of 700 churches
Six pastors have been arrested and accused of “masterminding” a ploy to disobey the Rwandan government’s order to shut down over 700 churches in one province. The pastors were alleged to have held “illegal meetings with bad intentions”, the BBC reported. The churches in the central province of Kigali were […]
Rwanda: 700 churches closed down – in just one province
Rwanda has ordered 700 churches in Kigali Province to suspend activities from today (1 March) because of concerns over health and safety. Under a newly proposed law the churches are expected to meet “basic requirements in terms of safety, hygiene, infrastructure and legality”, Justus Kangwagye, a government official, said. The […]