Followers of the Seventh Day Adventist Reform Movement say the crisis around their church began to escalate in 2024, when leaders and members refused to take part in elections and avoided local politics. Supporters say this position is rooted in religious belief: they do not vote, they do not join political parties, and they discourage followers from political participation.
They claim that stance became especially risky during the 2024 election period, in a climate where public support for the ruling party is widely expected. They also say that, while other independent churches have faced closure and harassment in Rwanda, this movement was pressured in a more specific way: largely because of what it preached about elections and politics.
According to accounts shared by church members, the church’s leader and spokesperson, Pastor Jean Bosco NSENGIYUMVA, was kidnapped on 26/06/2024 in Rubavu, Mahoko. Followers say he was forced into a car and taken against his will.
They allege he was then held under the authority of RIB in Kanama, but not inside an official detention facility. Instead, they claim he was kept in a “safe house”, separate from the normal prison system.
Church members say Pastor Pascal Niringiyimana witnessed what happened and later began trying to find out where Jean Bosco had been taken.
Supporters say that, as Pascal searched for answers, he spoke to a senior military figure he trusted, described as his friend: COL Dodo Twahirwa. According to the same account, this intervention helped secure Jean Bosco’s release a few days later.
After his release, followers say Jean Bosco left Rwanda and fled to Uganda.
Supporters claim Jean Bosco returned to Rwanda in 2025, after the elections had ended. They say he did not resume public activity and kept a low profile, avoiding visibility and public appearances.
Followers say that later, Pastor Pascal Niringiyimana was struck by a car on 11/07/2025. They believe it was deliberate, though they have not presented public evidence.
They say Pascal was taken to hospital in Butare, where he later died on 22/07/2025. Some supporters allege he was killed in hospital, describing it as strangulation. These claims have circulated within the church community, but there has been no public, independent confirmation.
Following Pascal’s death, followers say fear spread quickly through the movement. They claim Jean Bosco NSENGIYUMVA later disappeared, and that people inside the church no longer know whether he was arrested or fled again for safety.
For supporters, the sequence of events, from the 2024 election period to the alleged detention of their leader and the death of Pastor Pascal, is part of a pattern of pressure on a church whose teachings keep it outside political life. They say what they want now is basic clarity: what truly happened to Pascal in July 2025, and where Jean Bosco is today.
Therwandan