The Anglican Church of Rwanda has announced the extension of Dr. Laurent Mbanda’s term as Archbishop for three years and four months.
Mbanda, who is currently serving the church for a five-year term, was elected as the Archbishop and Primate of the Province of the Anglican Church of Rwanda in 2018 replacing the retired Onesphore Rwaje.
According to a statement signed by Rev. Nathan Muhutu, the General Secretary of the Anglican Church of Rwanda, the decision was taken in accordance with the resolutions of an extraordinary meeting of the House of Bishops held in the Diocese of Kigali on August 24 this year.
The meeting decided to extend Mbanda’s term as Rwanda’s Anglican archbishop, and now it will be ending on October 25, 2026, instead of August 25, 2023.
Jered Kalimba, the Dean of Bishops and Bishop of Shyogwe Diocese of the Anglican Church, commended Mbanda’s excellent leadership, saying that his service has been a blessing to the Church and the country.
Kalimba told the Gospel Time that the decision to extend Mbanda’s term was based on his outstanding contributions, adding that it was too early for him to leave as he has started as he is still working on many projects, including establishing new faculties at the East African Christian College.
“So, we decided to give him more time to complete the process,” he said.
“We thank Archbishop Mbanda for accepting our offer to extend his term. He would refuse because he had other personal and family affairs to deal with,” he added.
His key achievements include the construction of commercial buildings and church offices across the country.
Commenting on his term’s extension, Archbishop Mbanda said that his leadership would continue to focus on the church’s five pillars.
“I am a servant, and my service will be focused on the pillars of the church such as education, capacity building, evangelism, and so on,” he noted.
