BRAZZAVILLE, Sept 10 (Reuters) - A renegade pastor due to take up a ministerial position in Congo Republic was prevented from entering the capital Brazzaville on Monday when he arrived with 3,000 armed men, a government spokesman said. Frederic Bintsamou, better known as Pastor Ntoumi, fought a rebellion in the Pool region around Brazzaville from 1998 to 2003, when he signed a peace agreement with President Denis Sassou-Nguesso. In May, Sassou-Nguesso named Ntoumi a junior minister in charge of promoting peace. However, his swearing-in ceremony was indefinitely postponed after the government accused him of breaking an agreement on the terms of his arrival in Brazzaville. "He arrived with more than 3,000 armed ex-combatants, while he is permitted a guard of 30 people," said government spokesman Alain Akouala, adding that some of the former fighters carried machine guns and rocket launchers, and harassed civilians. "The principle of his taking office remains in place, but we do not want to name a day," Akouala said. "Frederic Bintamou can rest assured that his safety will be guaranteed." Ntoumi's "Ninja" rebel movement, named after the Japanese warriors, became a political party following the peace deal, the National Council of Republicans (CNR), but failed to win a single seat at legislative elections in June. Army general Sassou-Nguesso took office at the head of military regime in 1979 and ruled for 13 years before losing elections in 1992. He returned to power in an Angolan-backed uprising in 1997 which sparked a two-year civil war.
