Fire and Brimstone Preacher Censured by Government of Sierra Leone

A fire and brimstone sermon by Victor Ajisafe has landed him in hot water with the government of Sierra Leone.

Ajisafe, a native of Nigeria, and the founder and pastor in charge of the Christ Revival Evangelistic Ministries located off Kingharman Road in Freetown was today issued a temporary suspension of the registration of his Sanctuary Praise Church by Sierra Leone's Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children's Affairs.

In an open letter from the social welfare ministry dated 26th September 2017, chief social services officer, Joseph S. Sinnah, said the action was taken “following the dissemination of a video/audio recording attributed to” Ajisafe.

In the audio, Ajisafe condemned the recent visit of Zimbabwean Grand Mufti Menk at Sierra Leone's State House to meet President Ernest Koroma, while on an inspirational tour to the post-war country, which suffered devastating floods and mudslides in August.

“This recording which is deemed as promoting religious intolerance, hate, and inter-religious tensions has the potential to undermine State security,” the letter added.


A 2014 article published in The Economist  “Religion in Sierra Leone | All things happily to all men” praised Sierra Leone for bucking a west African trend by celebrating its religious tolerance.

Sierra Leone takes religious tolerance seriously, the article said.

Sierra Leone straddles Africa’s religious equator, where the Muslim north meets the Christian south. Other countries in the region are experiencing religious violence, with Islamist militants creating mayhem in the Central African Republic, Mali, and Nigeria.
But in Sierra Leone, the president, Ernest Bai Koroma, a Christian, was elected by voters who are roughly 70% Muslim. His vice-president is a Muslim. Marriage across sectarian lines is common, as are conversions. Neither religion played a part in the country's civil war in the 1990s. “We all believe in one God,” says Wurie Bah, a Muslim from Freetown. “If my friends invite me to church, of course, I will go.”

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