Rwanda Governance Board (RGB) has shed light on why it revoked the legal status of Grace Room, a popular inter-denominational ministry based in Kigali.
The revocation was announced on Saturday, May 10 due to “violation” of the regulatory framework governing Faith-Based Organisations (FBOs) in Rwanda, as cited by RGB.
Speaking to The New Times, an RGB official said Grace Room Ministries “seriously drifted” from its registered mission, leading to the revocation of its license.
The official explained that being a faith-based organisation does not automatically permit prayer and worship.
“The requirements during registration and operation are different. Supervision is based on who you are and how you registered, under the four categories of faith-based organisations provided by Rwandan law,” the official said.
The law governing faith-based organizations in Rwanda outlines four categories.
Among them is an “Organisation,” referring to a church, which is allowed to conduct prayer and worship. Another is the “Ministry,” considered an arm of the church, legally mandated to carry out development work. It is this latter category under which Grace Room Ministries is registered.
“While a church can worship, pray and still have development programs, a ministry is exclusively mandated to carry out development activities. It is not permitted to organize worship services,” the official explained.
“For instance, a church leader must have a theology degree because they preach to the public, while a ministry leader is not required to. If ministries occasionally held prayer events to raise funds for development activities, that might be understandable.”
The RGB official further stated: “They did not only do activities that were contrary to their mission, such as convening prayer and worship, but also went contrary to church regulations. For instance, recently they baptised hundreds of people in a public swimming pool, which the regulations do not allow but rather encourage doing such activities to be done in the premises of the church.”
RGB clarified that Grace Room was free to register as a church if that aligned with its mission. For now, the organization is free to appeal the revocation as a ministry.
Grace Room Ministries is registered under the Jubilee Revival Assembly Church, led by Stanley Kabanda. However, the day-to-day leadership of the ministry falls to his wife, Julienne Kabanda, who is not recognized by the RGB as a legal leader within the church’s official structure.
The New Times made attempts to reach out to Julienne Kabanda for a comment, but the efforts were futile by press time.
When RGB was asked why the revocation did not occur earlier despite ongoing violations, RGB explained that it had taken time to monitor the organisation’s daily activities and gather sufficient evidence.
“We have identified a number of irregularities that may not be obvious to the public but are serious legal violations, especially considering the potential impact on large populations,” the official said.
RGB reiterated its commitment to monitoring all faith-based organisations.
“Any organisation found operating contrary to its legal mission will face similar consequences once it comes to our attention,” the official warned.
