President Kagame and First Lady pose for a group photo with members of Rwanda Leaders Fellowship.
President Paul Kagame on Sunday spoke out on the recent closure of churches in Rwanda, particularly those which do not meet requirements, pointing out the government cannot look on as the many churches that were cropping up were misleading people and at the same time ripping them off of their hard-earned resources.
President Kagame shared his views during a Thanksgiving Prayer Breakfast organised by Rwanda Leaders Fellowship (RLF) to celebrate and thank God for successful and peaceful elections, telling the congregation which included government officials, religious leaders and members of the private sector that cleaning up churches was much a much needed exercise.
President Kagame said that while it was great to be thankful, self-introspection is needed for people to do the right thing, whether it is politicians, religious leaders or anyone else,
“Thanksgiving cannot be an end in itself. You cannot make it a culture, a ritual, just to be thankful. You must have something to be grateful for, and it is better if it is something that you were involved in. If you are being thankful for things you did, that you put effort into, and you have gotten results that you can be grateful for, then that’s right,”
President Kagame said the government cannot look away as Rwandans get misled by many churches and beliefs.
“I want you to understand that thanksgiving is not just about being grateful, it also goes with being satisfied, fulfilled.” President Kagame said, emphasizing the need for authenticity and truthfulness in what people do.
One of the issues he spent time on is the issue of churches which he said became some sort of business ventures and vehicles through which people are misled.
The Head of State said that critics attacked the country like a ‘swarm of locusts’ for the recent crackdown on churches, but he reiterated that the government will not back down on its stance, as long as there are still churches whose main aim is to mislead Rwandans and take advantage of them.
Among other things, he said people were planting churches to enrich themselves at the expense of citizens, who they promise miracles and prosperity, but in doing so take even the little they have, pointing out that as the political leader of the country, he has a responsibility to safeguard citizens from such.
“We had done it before, but it seems we didn’t do it well, or we did not do the right thing,” he said in reference to a previous inspection which saw over 7,000 churches closed for non-compliance. The recent exercise has left more than 10, 000 churches closed.
President Kagame said that as the political leader of the country, he has the responsibility to safeguard citizens.
President Kagame blamed the issue on four factors, the first one being how the many churches were allowed to open, with many people seeing it as an opportunity to open a church for business but on the other hand, he cited leaders who allowed the many churches as partly responsible, just as the many Rwandans who have been misled to become followers.
“I don’t know if what happened to us, our history, left us depressed, naïve or we are just gullible. This is an issue that involves everyone -illiterate or literate, everyone seems to be drawn in,” President Kagame said, adding that the fourth group are those who saw the churches crop up and did nothing about it.
Ironically, he said the individuals who confuse people using religion are the same people who say all people are equal before God, yet they purport to have more God-given powers than others and represent God.
“Are you not the ones who keep telling us that we are all equal before God? Are we really equal before God? Is any one of us better than the other? Why are there those who tell us “You know this morning I heard a voice and I recognized it as the voice of God.” God only appears to you, and he cannot appear to others?
President Kagame partly blamed Rwandans for not questioning what is thrown at them.
“Does God tell you when he appears to you that you should go and kill people or lie or even steal from them? If it is true that he appears to you, I would be happy to hear the message he gave you, if it is a message that is good for all of us, who would not want to hear it?” he pondered.
The Head of State said the issue has been twisted to show that the Rwandan Government or the leaders are not believers, with some critics describing the clean up exercise as an attack on church or religion, something he dismissed.
“Another confusion that people have is that they are afraid to condemn someone who does such bad things or who gives a wrong message because it would supposedly mean that they are against God since all those bad deeds are done under the cover of the name of God,” President Kagame said, emphasizing that Rwanda cannot be deterred by the criticism it is receiving on the matter.
He pointed out that it has gone to a point where people are told to climb trees to get closer to God or told to starve themselves and they do it, reiterating that the government cannot afford to allow the brainwashing and misrepresentation of what God should be, or is to continue.
“If you pretend that God has appeared to you and you start misleading people, telling them they should not eat, asking them to reject medical treatment, and you say that you were sent, by whom? Not only God but also a reasonable human being cannot send you to do such things. And you are lying to us that you were sent by God? Really?” he asked.
President Kagame and the First Lady were the guests of honour at the Thanksgiving Breakfast.
“People hide behind the name of God to commit atrocities and you let them? Some of you gave the impression that the Rwandan government rose up to fight against faith, against religions. We see that in what is written about this issue [the closing of some churches], if you do that thinking that you are threatening some of us, with intimidation, that won’t happen,” the Head of State said.
President Kagame urged religious leaders who genuinely want to serve God to “keep it simple, do the right thing” that is known to them, that reasonable people do, and that the country needs them to do but they cannot turn the Rwandan society into something they mislead as they please, pulling it in all directions.
“We have been abused enough, we don’t want to be abused ever again,” President Kagame said, adding that God gave everyone a brain to think, in a way partly blaming Rwandans for taking everything they are told, rather than using their God-given brains.
“He gave it to use so that if someone tells you something bad or gives you something harmful, we can first question it. Use your brain to ask; question those who come to you “what are you telling me? Is it in my best interests? What will you benefit from telling me this?”
“Remember that you are not supposed to accept anything that comes your way. How is this [accepting to be misled] even possible for reasonable people like you, who have gone through the tragic history that we went through?” President Kagame observed.
