Kigali, Rwanda
Rwanda's religious sects which have mushroomed since the 1994 war and genocide have grown into a potential source of insecurity, official sources warned Friday.
In the capital Kigali alone, over 300 such sects have sprung up, most of which are splinter groups of protestant churches, the sources said.
On Thursday Rwandan Minister of Interior, Jean de Dieu Ntiruhungwa, together with the Minister of Local Government, Desire Nyandwi, summoned over 100 delegates of these sects to a meeting in which he expressed the government's concern about their activities.
"Most of these sects do not have well-known legal representation, and assemble at night in places not suitable for worship," Ntiruhungwa told PANA in a telephone interview.
"These sects have become a source of insecurity and instability in the country, and tough measures must be taken to contain the situation," Ntiruhungwa said.
Analysts in the capital said that 90 percent of the followers are young and unemployed people, seduced by the money provided by considerable financial support from unknown sponsors outside Rwanda.
In some cases, the youth have been given scholarships or paid trips to the US, Europe or Asia.
Much to the concern of the Rwandan authorities, some of these sects have been discouraging other youths to drop out of school.
"Some of youths are lured into the sects by fake promises that their salvation is in heaven," a local leader, who declined to be named, told PANA.
According to Ntiruhungwa, these youths have also been taught civil disobedience.
Analysts said the government feared these sects as a source of dissenting views in a country where there is hardly any internal opposition.
"These sects have discouraged people from getting involved in development activities. Instead, they have indulged in destructive acts such as uprooting coffee and tea plantations and disrespecting the national flag," Ntiruhungwa said.
Tea and coffee are Rwanda's main cash crops, which bring in the needed foreign currency.
Analysts believe that in taking such a stand against the sects in the country, the government was trying to avoid a tragedy similar to the one which befell a sect in neighbouring Uganda last year when over 1,000 people perished at Kanungu in south-west Mbarara district. -O- PANA KAY/NGM