A 30,000-seat stadium filled with church leaders, government officials, religious liberty advocates, and Adventist church members was the venue to celebrate religious freedom in Rwanda and the African continent on September 15, 2018. The “Religious Freedom for All” festival, which took place in the Amahoro National Stadium in Kigali, the country’s capital, crowned the proceedings of the 3rd All Africa Congress and Festival of Religious Liberty, which had begun two days earlier.
The Sabbath (Saturday) morning festival was attended mostly by Rwandan Seventh-day Adventist church members but also by religious liberty delegates from close to 30 countries, representatives from human rights organizations, government officials, African scholars, and African entrepreneurs. The special guests included the Minister in the Office of the President of Rwanda, Judith Uwizeye; Rwandan Minister of Justice Johnston Busingye; and Chief Justice and President of the Supreme Court of Kenya David Maraga, who is a Seventh-day Adventist.
The five-hour event included a Religious Liberty Parade of Pathfinder clubs and several other church ministries; a music concert featuring a dozen musical groups and a brass band; religious liberty speeches; and thanksgiving prayers.
