10 Facts About Laurent Mbanda

Laurent Mbanda was born on 25 October 1954 and is a Rwandan Anglican bishop.

Laurent Mbanda was the bishop of the Diocese of Shyira when he was elected the fourth archbishop and primate of the Province of the Anglican Church of Rwanda on 17 January 2018, being enthroned on 10 June 2018.

Laurent Mbanda was born in Rwanda but spent a large part of his childhood in Burundi.

Laurent Mbanda graduated at the Kenya Highlands Bible College, in Kericho, Kenya, before returning to Burundi, where he was ordained an Anglican priest.

Laurent Mbanda was consecrated Bishop of the Diocese of Shyira in March 2010.

Laurent Mbanda was elected the fourth archbishop and primate of the Province of the Anglican Church of Rwanda on 17 January 2018, among five candidates, during the meeting the House of Bishops at St Etienne Cathedral, in Kigali, and his enthronement took place on 10 June.

Laurent Mbanda has been a longtime supporter of GAFCON, since he attended the first Global Anglican Future Conference in Jerusalem in June 2008.

In 2019, Mbanda was elected vice chairman of the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans.

Laurent Mbanda published Committed to Conflict: The Destruction of the Church in Rwanda, co-written with Steve Wamberg, about the Rwandan genocide, and his autobiography, From Barefoot to Bishop.

Laurent Mbanda defended the UK-Rwanda asylum plan saying that "Rwanda is ready to welcome people needing a home".