Coronavirus: Rwanda arrests “healer” as Ghana police shuts down churches

A self-styled traditional healer in northern Rwanda has been arrested after he claimed that he was capable of curing coronavirus infections through his esoteric knowledge.

A spokesperson for the country’s intelligence bureau, Marie Michelle Umuhoza, told the BBC that the traditional healer was nabbed on Tuesday.

A video of the healer was posted on YouTube and that alerted authorities. In the video that is no longer available, the healer claimed they had a cure for the global pandemic.

He has since been charged with spreading false information.

Rwanda, one of the few countries in Africa to recently report cases of coronavirus, now has nine cases.

The country recently launched a national handwashing campaign as part of plans to battle the flu-like disease which can spread through touching infected people and contaminated surfaces.

Meanwhile, Ghana, another country to report its first nine cases in the last week, has ordered for churches and schools to be shut down.

Local media reports that a pastor who was found in contravention of the presidential decree was arrested on Wednesday morning in the country’s Ashanti region.

Kofi Nkrumah Sarkodie, leader of the Open Arms Ministry, was arrested in the presence of his congregation during a church service. He has since been detained and his church shut down.

Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo has also suspended such gatherings as weddings, funerals and instituted a cap of no more than 25 people in critical public gatherings.