The Rwanda Governance Board (RGB) this week shut down 185 churches in a nationwide operation to weed out churches and other faith-based institutions that don't meet the country's set standards. All the churches which had been shut down by Wednesday were in the Musanze District, in the Northern Province. "The inspection focuses on verifying that denominations and prayer houses have registration documents issued by the RGB, letters of collaboration with the district when a branch is opened, and that prayer houses meet legal requirements [building codes] for their location. He said that, when they discover the institutions don't measure up, they are shut down before the next church gathering. The last time Rwanda carried out a similar operation was in 2019, when as many as 714 places of worship, most of it Pentecostal churches and a mosque, were closed.

Source: News 24 August 03, 2024 17:06 UTC