Update (Mar. 4): New noise regulations in Kigali will punish loud preaching on public buses and street corners with fines, reports East African Business Week.

The central business district of Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, is also having trouble with noise from churches that meet in office buildings during the work day.

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Government officials in Rwanda and Uganda are cracking down on noise pollution, telling church leaders that they must reduce worship-related noise levels or face penalties–including the risk of being shut down.

Noise pollution penalties in Kigali, the East African nation's capital, apply not only to churches, but also to nightclubs and other venues. But mayor Fidele Ndayisaba said the city lately has received "overwhelming complaints" of "deafening noise from churches."

Rwanda is not the only African country to enforce noise pollution penalties against churches. Uganda's capital city Kampala recently drafted legislation to reduce noise levels in the city, prompting churches ...

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