More than 200 clergymen have vowed to push on with a petition to reject the proposed law to regulate churches, despite President William Ruto’s decision to shelve the Religious Organisations Bill.
The clerics, led by bishops from the pentecostal churches who met in Ruiru, Kiambu County say they have engaged a lawyer to draft their petition noting that the government may still in future revive the regulatory law that they say will have far reaching implications on religious freedom in Kenya.
Under the umbrella National Gospel Ministries Alliance (NAGMA) led by the Chairman Bishop Stephen Ndicho, the clergymen warned the Kenya Kwanza government against waging a ‘holy war’ with the church, which they said would have serious repercussions.
Holy war
“We have gone through the clauses and realized some of them are targeting certain churches. This could lead to a holy war against the government which may not auger well,” said Ndicho while briefing journalists after chairing a meeting at the Jesus Healing Christian Church.
They said the proposed law sponsored by Tana River Senator Danson Mungatana through a private member’s motion seeks to have all the existing churches deregistered and made to reapply for registration afresh, a thing they maintain is illegal as no public participation exercise was carried as per the constitution.
Besides, church leaders will be required to have at least a degree from a recognized institution of higher learning, which the clerics say is discriminatory.
Ndicho, however, said that whereas some of the clauses in the draft document are good, the entire process should be discarded. He added that people who break the law including religious leaders should be dealt with as individuals, without dragging the entire church into their malpractices.
For instance, Ndicho singled out the case of Shakahola massacre which he said should not be used to criminalize other innocent religious organizations.
However, President Ruto agreed to shelf the Bill which was crafted in the wake of the Shakahola cult deaths and announced that he would meet with church leaders to discuss effects of the Bill before signing it into law.
“I have listened keenly to your request about shelving plans to assent the Bill into law,” he said while attending Stewards Revival Pentecostal Church’s 14th anniversary.
Apostle Margaret Wachuka said the proposed regulations are an affront to the spread of the gospel and should be rejected in totality.
Shakahola cult death
On Sunday, President William Ruto promised to shelve the Religious Organisations Bill, a brainchild of Tana River Senator Danson Mungatana in the wake of the Shakahola cult deaths.
He announced at a Sunday church service in Embakasi West that he would meet officials of the Federation of Evangelical and Indigenous Christian Churches of Kenya (FEICCK) to have a discussion on the bill and how it will affect the church movement before assenting it to law.
“I have listened keenly to your request about shelving plans to assent the bill into law,” said the President as he attended the Stewards Revival Pentecostal Church’s (SRPC) 14th anniversary.
Opposed bill
The Mungatana Bill states that its object is to register religious organisations. A number of commentators and those opposed to this Bill are questioning the purpose of registration.
This was after Bishop Samuel Njiriri, who is the presiding bishop of SRPC and FEICCK’s chairman questioned whether it was the lack of registration that led to the Shakahola deaths or the lethargy with the authorities to heed intelligence reports on the deadly issue.
“As a church we are saying that the Mungatana Bill is not a good law. Therefore, as we applaud the President for giving us opportunity to present our concerns, we are alive to the fact that the Bill becoming law, will bring problems to us because it blocks avenues of evangelising our children,” the SRPC presiding bishop said.
He added, “That was our request to the President to shelve that Bill, to stop assent.
