Government to investigate sects

Togo's government has set up an inter-ministerial commission to investigate the activities of all religious sects whose "unorthodox" mode of worship "threatens to imperil the orderly well being of the Togolese society". The 'Ghanaian Chronicle' said the move was announced in a statement issued at a cabinet meeting chaired by President Gnassingbe Eyadema. It said the sects beat cymbals and drums that "make noise at night and disturb public peace". "The resultant pandemonium imperils the physical security and well being of individuals with whom they live in their respective communities as neighbours," it said. The statement noted that such forms of worship were carried out under the guise of healing the sick and the disabled, and tended to offend "decency and the moral fabric upon which the Togolese society is built".