Rwanda Governance Board (RGB), the custodian and registrar of Faith-Based organizations – including churches and mosques, among others – is currently holding countrywide consultations with stakeholders on the proposed amendments in the existing regulation.
Kangwagye, Director in charge of Political Parties and faith-based organisations at RGB told Sunday Times that the review of these regulations resulted from the previous inspections which established a number of substandard churches which didn’t comply with building regulations and noise pollution laws.
He also noted that there are some bigger churches which have "given birth" to smaller branches illegally, the mushrooming of illegal and inefficient meeting places of worship in residential areas which cause noise pollution and do not meet minimum sanitation requirements, while some clerics have been found “exploiting” church goers, among other issues that will be addressed in the amended law.
“Currently we are still in consultations and the new regulations governing faith-based organisations should be tabled before parliament soon after this exercise,” Kangwagye said.
“When we talk of the loopholes, we are looking at cases where some of these people are not adhering to minimum standards. Rwanda respects freedom of association and worship but when some churches start recreating smaller churches that don’t meet requirements and smaller rooms that can’t accommodate big numbers then problems arise,” he added.
According to Kangwagye, some church leaders have been found exploiting churchgoers, “where you find these people sacrificing all their belongings for the sake of their churches. We need to check all these.
“We have had four months of consultations, we started with church leaders who have had their input and we will continue in
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