The faithful watched in disbelief as one of the country’s largest religious organisation, the Pentecost Church became embroiled in a bitter dispute last week.

Several members of Pentecost Churches in Rwanda (ADPR) accused some leaders of propagating negative ethnicity, embezzling church funds and being corrupt.

The Rwanda Governance Board (RGB), established to promote good governance in the country, carried out three months of evaluation that saw the church’s legal representative, Samuel Usabwimana, sacked.

Saleh Habimana, head of political parties, NGOs and faith based organisations at RGB, said that Mr Usabwimana was sacked after investigations found him unsuitable to hold office.

Pastor Jean Sibomana took over Mr Usabwimana’s post as the acting regional legal representative in an official handover ceremony held recently. He will act for a period of six months after which the general assembly will elect a new leader.

Speaking to Rwanda Today, Mr Sibomana promised to resolve the conflicts that have been crippling the church. “The church has faced many problems, we will try to resolve them,” said Mr Sibomana.

ADPR is an association of Pentecostal churches and was established in 1930 by missionaries who entered the west of the country through the district of Rusizi from the Democratic Republic of Congo. The church currently has about one million followers with 300 churches across the country.

According to reports, several other members of the church including pastors have been either suspended or expelled.

Pastor Samuel Semunyana from Karugira cell, Gikondo, in Kigali was allegedly expelled from the church in unclear circumstances. Pastor Semunyana was accused of selling the church van without the authorisation of the church members.

The legal framework for civil society in Rwanda has recently gone through comprehensive reforms. In 2008, parliament enacted the Organic Law no. 55/2008 of 10/09/2008 governing NGOs (O.G. no. 23 of 01/12/2008).

More recently in 2011 the Senate passed new laws governing national and international NGOs, as well as religious-based organisations. The three new laws were signed by President Paul Kagame in 2012.

ADPR has revised its constitution five times, with the newly updated one being in line with the country’s law that governs religion. Pastor Sibomana promised to sit with the committee to review the ADPR laws in order to bring back peace and harmony in the church.