Let laws seeking to regulate churches rein in con pastors

That Kenya is a secular state is a matter enshrined in the Constitution. By this, it means every Kenyan has a right to worship or belong to any religious organisation without state control or interference in that choice, as long as that belief does not infringe on the right of others to exercise the same.

Before I get to the gist of this constitutional provision I will mention two controversial issues that keep cropping up in the country like a sore thumb.

Sometime back, there were reports that devil worship was rampant in our colleges and schools, a matter that the government found hard to intervene in, given the subtle nature of the matter. To date, Kenya is awash with allegations that some leaders practise devil worship but so far no one has been charged in court due to „lack of evidence.“

The same problem arises when it comes to dealing with witchcraft where obtaining the burden of proof that someone has practised the same becomes an uphill task in our courts of law. This has led some aggrieved individuals to take the law in their hands as the suspects are lynched and their houses torched.

Coming to the heart of the matter, mixed reactions have greeted recant government move to come up with a raft of

measures to regulate activities of churches. One might ask the question, if Kenya is a secular state, why does the government seek to regulate churches? The answer is almost forthright: That when it comes to impunity in worship and religion our churches take the cake.

Preachers, self-styled apostles and bishops are sprouting up at every corner of this country and some are declaring power to perform miracles for a fee.

Some of these self-styled prophets are so impatient that they want immediate payment through money transfer services such as M-Pesa.

Secondly, gullible faithful flock churches with the hope that their problems will go away only for them to turn out to be cash cows for some preachers.

As such it should not be a tall order for government to regulate how some church leaders earn their titles, some of which are

questionable and even comic at times, like yours truly starting a church tomorrow and the following day I declare myself a prophet of God and performing miracles whose tangible results are non-existent!

However, churches, since time immemorial have played a crucial role in supporting education and healthcare.

In fact, in those days of yore, schools and health centres used to exist together with

churches for the well-being of the people.

Even now, the role of churches in socio-economic well-being of the country cannot be gainsaid. For instance, churches in our country employ thousands of people.

So the new laws should seek to rein in con pastors hiding under the veil of worship.