President Paul Kagame has warned that many people are misrepresenting themselves as doing God’s work by establishing numerous churches while primarily seeking to exploit their followers.
Speaking to the press on Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025, Kagame said he sees little role for churches in addressing global problems such as war and unemployment.
In August 2024, the Rwanda Governance Board (RGB) reported that during inspections of 14,000 churches, 7,709 were closed for failing to meet regulatory requirements.
The RGB said the rapid growth of some churches is driven by founders pursuing personal gain, including financial profit and property from members, spreading misleading teachings, and other motives.
On the issue of closed churches, Kagame said he sees no problem, noting that many were engaged in criminal activities. “Most of them are thieves! In my view, they are full of crime, and I have no mercy for them. If it were up to me, I would not open a single church,” he said.
Kagame also emphasized that people should focus on productive work rather than spending time in churches, which he says play no meaningful role in addressing unemployment or other global challenges. “In all these matters—wars in the world and the wellbeing of the country—what role do churches play? Do they create jobs? Meanwhile, colonizers exploited you, and you protected them? Now we waste time talking about churches; go farm, go raise livestock,” he said.
This is not the first time Kagame has addressed concerns about churches. In August 2024, he said that religious organizations had already contributed to confusion and mischief in society.
Regarding some churches that were later allowed to reopen, Kagame said he does not wish to oppress people, noting that only a few churches were closed. “If you want to pray, you can pray on the phone. Where did these religions come from anyway? We are just trying to set things right without oppressing anyone, and only a few were closed,” he said.
Earlier this year, the president noted that some churches that had previously been closed were allowed to reopen after meeting the required standards, and indeed, some have since resumed operations.
