Rwanda bans Kigali mosques from using loudspeakers

david nganga

March 15, 2018 7:00 PM

The move comes just weeks after 700 churches were closed over noise pollution

Rwanda has banned mosques from using loudspeakers for the call to prayer.

Authorities say the calls, made five times a day, have been a nuisance to residents of Nyarugenge district, home to the capital's biggest mosques.

The government says the Muslim community has complied with the ban.

"I have found that they have begun to respect it and it has not stopped their followers from going to pray according to their praying time," Havuguziga Charles, a local official from Nyarugenge told the BBC's Great Lakes service.

But an official from a Muslim association criticised it, saying they could instead keep the volume down.

Likewise, the head of the Supreme Muslim Council of Rwanda, Sheikh Salim Hitimana, said the decision had taken them by surprise.

“We are going to meet the authority that issued the directive and discuss this decision. We will then share our stand,” he said.

The move comes just weeks 700 churches were closed for not complying with building regulations and noise pollution. The government has vowed to go on with the clampdown on substandard churches across the East African country.

david nganga