US pastor Gregg Schoof was deported from Rwanda for “disorderly conduct” after he tried to hold a press conference with journalists in a public space without authorization.
John Bosco Kabera the spokesperson for Rwanda’s Investigative Bureau said
“He was arrested for holding an illegal meeting with journalists in a public space. It is illegal to hold meetings in public spaces without authorisation.”
Schoof was planning to criticize the government for closing his church and radio station at a press conference on Monday, 7 October 2019.
The US pastor who is originally from Phoenix, Arizona had been operating a church and radio station in Rwanda since 2003. In May, Schoof lost an appeal in which he had tried to reopen the Amazing Grace FM radio station.
Amazing Grace FM was closed last year after Schoof refused to apologize and pay a 2 million Rwandan Francs (US$ 2000) fine for airing a sermon by local Pastor Nicholas who described women as “evil” and “prostitutes”.
His church was closed in February 2019 with hundreds of others, for failing to comply with building regulations “and for noise pollution”.
A press statement by Schoof in which he argues that the phrase “women are evil” was used to describe bad churches
