Thousands make confessions and get baptised in Rwanda’s prisons

KIGALI, Rwanda — If judged purely on the numbers of baptisms which have taken place recently, it seems that a revival may well be under way in the prisons of Rwanda. The number of prisoners baptised in Rwanda’s prisons from 1998 until June 2001 was 6,581.

In a letter to the Rev Anasthase H Kajugiro, General Secretary of the Bible Society in Rwanda, Pastor Amon Rugelinyange, the President of the Rwanda Union Mission of Seventh-day Adventists, described the part his own denomination is playing in the process and some of his own recent personal observations of public acts of repentance by men in prison.

19 prisons

There are 19 prisons in Rwanda, including three in the capital, Kigali. Inmates include an estimated 115,000 men and women who are facing accusations of genocide and crimes against humanity arising from the violent conflict between the Hutu and Tutsi peoples in 1994, in which at least 800,000 people from both sides were killed.

In his letter the pastor described an event in Nkomero Prison, in southwest Rwanda, on a Sunday last December. Nkomero is holding some 672 prisoners allegedly involved in the genocide. On the occasion in December some 370 of them confessed their crimes, asking for forgiveness from the relatives of those they had killed. No fewer than 327 of them were subsequently baptised.

According to Pastor Rugelinyange, these apparent acts of contrition happen fairly often at Nkomero.

“The same thing happened last Sunday,” he said. “About 15 men stood up and publicly confessed what they had done, asking for forgiveness by mentioning the names of people wronged - including my name. Some were telling their wives, who were present, that they must not blame their neighbours, but that they [the husbands] were in jail because they had killed people. ’We are sorry we did not tell you what we have been doing,’ they said.

Sincere

“I told them that if they are sincere with their Lord and Saviour they will meet their victims - those who were faithful and who are resting in Jesus - on the morning of the resurrection,” the pastor added.

He reported similar occurrences in the prisons at Ntongwe and Runda.
In Nkomero, he added, two laymen are acting as mediators between the imprisoned offenders and those they have offended against.

Baptisms

The number of baptisms taking place in prisons is such that Kigali’s Seventh-day Adventists have had a mobile baptistry specially made by one of their church members.

“With this important tool of evangelism we are well able to run our prison ministry throughout the whole country,” said Pastor Rugelinyange. “The Spirit of the Lord is really doing miracles in prison ministry for unity and reconciliation and we praise God for his powerful Word.”

Free of charge

The Scriptures which the Adventists are distributing in the prisons all come from the Bible Society in Rwanda.

“They are supplied free of charge for the prisoners, but unfortunately our resources are limited,” said the Rev Anasthase Kajugiro, General Secretary of the Bible Society in Rwanda.