Rwanda - August 2024

The Rwanda Governance Board (RGB) and the Ministry of Local Government announced that they had closed down nearly 8,000 churches and a few mosques in August for failing to meet regulatory standards. It has affected mostly small Pentecostal churches – some of them operating out of caves or on the banks of rivers. This followed a two-week period beginning at the end of July of intensified inspections of over 13,000 churches – out of which 59.3 per cent have now been closed. Authorities cited non-compliance with infrastructure, safety, and leadership training requirements. This is the biggest major crackdown since law 72/2018 was introduced six years ago to regulate places of worship and which subsequently resulted in the closure of 700 churches that same year. The law mandates organized operations, safe environments, bans loud public address systems, and requires preachers to have theological training. Some critics have described the latest attempt to regulate places of worship in Rwanda as an attempt by Kagame to further centralize power in the hands of the state.  

Sources: The New Times, BBC, Monitor, Igihe, The East African, RwandaLII, Council on Foreign Relations