Cameroon’s Minister of Cults, Paul Atanga Nji, announced on July 8, 2026, the impending shutdown of 1,400 emerging churches across the nation. He cited persistent administrative irregularities as the primary reason for this decisive action.
Back in 2024, the minister had instructed all new religious establishments to register with his department. However, many have yet to comply. “The era of leniency has definitively ended,” Minister Atanga Nji emphasized during a meeting with leaders from the “Vie et Paix” revival church. This summons followed the brutal murder of an 11-year-old girl in late June, allegedly by a 22-year-old female adherent of the church. The young victim suffered 17 stab wounds, with the perpetrator claiming to have acted under the instruction of the Holy Spirit, according to details from the ministry’s official website.
This shocking tragedy, which deeply resonated throughout the country, came after another similar crime committed in March. In that incident, an 11-year-old girl was also killed, though specific motives were not disclosed.
The Cameroonian government has been actively addressing the proliferation of new churches since 2006. By 2008, it had officially recognized 81 associations, Christian churches, and religious institutions, including 46 Protestant and Pentecostal denominations, all operating within legal frameworks.
Much like in other African nations, the rise of Christian sects gained significant momentum in Cameroon starting in 1994. This growth was fueled by both the law on freedom of association and the devaluation of the CFA franc. The economic hardships that followed this devaluation pushed vulnerable populations into the embrace of various preachers and their movements.
In 2025, the Cameroonian government took action by closing nearly 200 places of worship belonging to new churches, primarily due to excessive noise pollution. At that time, unregistered new churches were explicitly warned to “begin closing down and packing up.”
