Dr Jeffrey Haynes, Professor Emeritus of Politics, London Metropolitan University, UK
By Professor Jeffrey Haynes
President Trump’s spiritual adviser, Pastor Paula White, head of the White House Faith Office, undertook a four-nation tour of Africa between 5-17 November, visiting Gabon, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda and Uganda. The purpose of her visit was to give a spiritual articulation to the Trump administration’s diplomatic push to secure an agreement between Kinshasa and Kigale, with relations severely undermined by war in Eastern Congo. President Trump earlier claimed credit for ending the war between the two countries stimulated by by Rwandan-backed M23 rebel group’s seizure of a mineral-rich area of eastern DRC
In June the foreign ministers of DRC and Rwanda travelled to the White House to sign an agreement promising to honour a previous ceasefire agreement from 2024. Mr Trump then credited himself with ending ‘one of the worst wars anyone’s ever seen’. The problem however is that the war is not over: the M23 rebel group was not directly involved in the talks and the conflict continues. It generates millions of dollars annually for M23. The rebels have established a parallel administration, imposing a 15% tax on mineral traders in the Rubaya area, generating an estimated $800,000 per month in revenue.
Paula White was accompanied by Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams, 68-year-old founder and General Overseer of Action Chapel International, an Accra-based charismatic ministry, with numerous affiliate churches and ministries worldwide. They met with Rwanda’s president, Paul Kagame, and First Lady Jeannette Kagame, on 6 November. According to Rwanda’s Africa Press agency, Pastor White’s visit to Rwanda marks continued engagement between the USA and Rwanda, highlighting shared interests in fostering spiritual values, social transformation, and global peace initiatives.
Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams praised Rwanda’s transformation, calling it a chosen nation destined to inspire black people. He stated: ‘After visiting the Kigali Genocide Memorial, I can strongly say that God resurrected this nation that evil had planned to destroy … I believe this nation is chosen by God to teach other nations that everything is possible. I believe that the black man is not cursed’.
The tour’s next stop was DRC. President Felix Tshisekedi gathered a host of officials and religious representatives to welcome Pastor White and Archbishop Duncan-Williams. Pastor White had announced a day earlier that ‘within the next 52 days, a miracle will happen and all this sound of marching boots will come to and end’, prophesying that by 31 December – 52 days after 9 November – the DRC-Rwanda conflict will end.
Archbishop Duncan-Williams is a prominent charismatic Christian, frequent commentator on political issues, and friend and confidant of successive presidents. He has long associated with politically powerful people in Ghana, a relationship that began with Flt-Lt Jerry John Rawlings in the 1980s. Archbishop Duncan-Williams has long had a close personal relationship not only with Paula White but also with Mr Trump. Underlining the archbishop’s elite prominence in the USA, he was the first foreign cleric to lead the prayer for the incoming US president and vice-president at Mr Trump’s inauguration in January 2017.
Archbishop Duncan-Williams accompanied the then president, Mr Akufo-Addo to the USA in February 2019. The archbishop delivered a speech at the ‘Museum of the Bible’ in Washington D.C. during a banquet for wealthy diasporic Ghanaians and prominent American Christians, including Paula White and the billionaire owner of Hobby Lobby and the Founder and Chairman of the Museum of the Bible, Steven Green and his wife Jackie. Archbishop Duncan-Williams was at the time chair of the national cathedral’s fundraising committee and a member of its Board of Trustees. He asked those attending to give generously in order to receive the blessings of the God of Abraham, referring to a passage in Genesis 22.
With thousands of worshippers turning up every Sunday at Action Chapel International, and nearly three million followers for his sermons of social media, Archbishop is a major figure in Ghana. The return of Donald Trump to the US presidency appears to have given him renewed international clout, to the extent that he is now Ghana’s foremost unofficial faith-based diplomat. He is especially well-known and influential in African charismatic Christian circles, and has direct links to some of the leaders recently visited with Paula White, including President Felix Tshisekedi, with whom he shares the same religious outlook. During his presidential campaign, Mr Tshisekedi visited Accra and was received at Action Chapel International, where Archbishop Duncan-Williams predicted his electoral victory.
There is no suggestion that Archbishop Duncan-Williams’ recent four-nation African tour was at the behest of Ghana’s government. At the same time, however, he is known to be a close spiritual confidant of President Mahama, while also enjoying respect from figures across the political divide, including former Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia. Ghana’s government has expressed strong support for President Trump’s peace plan for both Gaza and Ukraine although it is not clear what the government’s stance is on the DRC-Rwanda conflict. However, Ghana’s government is involved in African Union and regional diplomatic efforts aimed at resolving the crisis, and it is possible that the presence of Archbishop Duncan-Williams in Pastor White’s party is an indication that Ghana is getting more hands on in the search for peace.
The writer is an Emeritus Professor of Politics at London Metropolitan University, UK.
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