Kinshasa, May 10th, 2025 (CPA)- Having a legal personality is one of the conditions for obtaining a permit to worship in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has explained, on Saturday in Kinshasa, a member of the service of the Ministry in charge of Justice and Keeper of the Seals, in an interview with CPA. ‘We need to make it clear to the public that the identification of pastors, bishops, imams and all other ministers of religion is free of charge. But first of all, a structure or platform of churches, particularly revivalist churches, must have a legal personality in order to have a permit to worship in the DRC’, has declared Eric Binga, communications adviser at the Ministry in charge of Justice. ‘One thing is true, and that is that you shouldn’t think you can come to the Ministry in charge of Justice and present yourself as a pastor, and you’ll immediately be given a permit to worship or a card to work as a church’, he has also pointed out, noting that there are prerequisites to be met.
Minister of State in charge of Justice and Pastor Gode Mpoyi (middle) surrounded by pastors from the High Council.
In addition to legal personality, according to this member of the Ministry in charge of Justice’s communications department, for revivalist churches, the legal representative must come to the relevant ministry commission to present his team or the pastors who work with him. After examining the files submitted, the Ministry in charge of Justice and Keeper of the Seals issues a worship permit to a structure. The pastors, bishops, imams and others have therefore been invited to present themselves to the Commission for Religious Denominations and Associations of the Ministry in charge of Justice and the Keeper of the Seals, headed by Councillor Germain Mupasa, to obtain all possible information and obtain their religious permits, if they meet the conditions. ACP/