A few years back I knew of a Kigali pastor - "shepherd" of one of the born-again churches that proliferate everywhere - who lived a flashier lifestyle than a bank CEO.
This self-styled man of God owned two big houses, and three fuel-guzzling SUVs; top of the range Toyota Landcruisers one of which was for his personal use, one for his wife, and the other to ferry his three kids to and from their international school.
Always clad in sharp, expensive suits, he was living the life. One, it goes without saying, that was financed by his congregation or, in the apt church-goers lingo, sheep.
His flock dutifully dipped into their pockets each time the collection plate (or basket) was passed around, doing what they were exhorted to as good Christians - giving away ten percent of their income in tithe.
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There would be other rounds of collections, "for renovating the church", "for the pastor's fuel expenses", things like that.
The pastor, if we are to look at it in a coldly analytical way, was what so many of the modern-day preachers, down to the most makeshift places of worship in the most deprived neighborhoods, are. They are sellers of belief in miracles - charlatans guaranteeing "a better tomorrow", by exploiting the fears, despairs, pain, or hopes of their flock.
To anyone prepared to use their eyes and reason (rather than blind faith), these people's behavior is no better than that of confidence tricksters and conmen. The difference is that they carry bibles.
Most are expert scammers that, having become fluent in the verses of the bible, evoke authority from God to extract the last possible banknote from each individual sheep who sets foot in their church.
Some have attained levels of brazenness that permit them to claim they personally talk to God - you know them, the so-called apostles, "intumwa z'imana".
They talk a mile a minute on their pulpits, delivering sermons in thunderous voices with words that promise healing, miracles in their flocks' personal lives, wealth, paradise!, after which there will be songs of praise to Jesus whose purpose is to get worshippers into a trance-like state, "to surrender to the spirit of God and forget the problems of the world."
I wonder if it ever occurs to these people that the problems won't, even for one second, forget them.
The pastors perpetrate the neatest, society-sanctioned, scam there is. Sell false hope, or momentary relief for those facing any range of societal problems - joblessness, poverty, chronic illnesses, uncertainty in relationships, lack of partners for those yearning for marriage, bad financial situations, bad domestic situations and so on - and make a killing while at it.
Now, personally I have no issues with people going to church and getting fleeced there.
If some pastor is so skillful as to convince you that he talked to God on your behalf, and therefore it's your duty to hand ten percent of your hard-earned income to him or her, which you do gladly, who am I to object?
The pastor doesn't hold a gun to anyone's head to hand over their money.
If you, the flock, have no problem seeing your preacher living like some monarch (the mansions, the flashy cars, the wives bedecked in jewelry, the toadies opening car doors for him...in some countries the wealthiest of these fellows own private jets), and you still dig deep in your pockets to fork out to these charlatans, what business is it of mine to object?
But I have much disgust for those that, like the flashy pastor I mention at the start of this article, prey on the poorest of society.
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His sheep were, mostly, maids and servants, casual laborers at construction sites (abayede), moto transporters, roadside vendors of telecommunication company "mobile money" services, street sweepers, and similar other groups on the lowest rungs of the economic ladder.
It felt to me that pastor truly was criminal, fleecing people that can hardly afford food, no, people that in fact routinely go hungry (they and their children) to finance his lifestyle of three Landcruiser SUVs, two huge houses, expensive suits, and vacations in Dubai. It was, and is criminal!
Which is why it was music to my ears to hear the President recently talk, forcefully, against the practices of churches and pastors like these, and the need to regulate, even tax, them.
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Some, those that have long been duped into thinking these charlatans actually "work for God", may be permitted for thinking maybe President Kagame ought to cut them some slack.
What they may overlook is that a lot of these churches do actual harm to people - say taking badly needed money from the poorest members of society on patently false pretexts - and that Kagame, as head of state, has a solemn obligation to protect every Rwandan. Most especially the most vulnerable, or disadvantaged.
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Doing away with the worst of these places of worship, meaning requiring a minimum of theological qualifications from their pastors, as well as imposing a minimum of safety regulations, is a great first step. At least there will be way less of them.
An even greater development would be taxing them. Let's be charitable and not call them rackets. Let's accept that, at best, they are businesses.
Tax them accordingly.
