E Guinea To Expel Brazilian Pastors Over Banned Masses

AFP - Agence France Presse
April 7, 2020

Two Brazilian pastors face expulsion from Equatorial Guinea after the pair held unauthorised masses in contravention of COVID-19 restrictions, the justice ministry told AFP Tuesday.

The pair "must be expelled from national territory as soon as circumstances allow with no possibility of returning," the president's office had decreed Sunday, banning their congregations from further gatherings.

The pair had ministered at masses on April 3 and 4 and in so doing "were, through their actions, insensitive to the fate of citizens," the presidency said, adding both their ministries would be shut down.

Equatorial Guinea has joined several other nations in central Africa in adopting strict measures designed to limit the spread of the virus including closing national borders and limiting movement across provincial boundaries as well as access to the capital Malabo.

Prime Minister Francisco Pascual Obama Asue announced in mid-March that authorities were closing all schools and entertainment venues to prevent the virus spreading as it began to take a foothold on the continent.