Draft law imposes penalties for churches that engage in politics

President William Ruto, his deputy Rigathi Gachagua and other leaders at ACK Church of Christ the King Pro-Cathedral in Nyahururu, Nyandarua County on June 23, 2024. [Kipsang Joseph, Standard]

A religious institution - church, mosque, temple or any other religious formation- which endorses a political party or candidate will be committing an offence if recommendations of a taskforce formed by President William Ruto are adopted.

According to a draft law prepared by the taskforce, all religious institutions will not engage in any political activity in order to gain political power, organise debate to support any political party or political candidate or use any other means to support any candidate for any political office.

The proposal is informed by the past practice where churches or other religious groupings endorsed particular political sides and proceeded to exact concessions antithetical to public policy from the winners.

The proposal is likely to attract noise and rebellion of religious institutions which have historically relied on political patronage to grow membership, acquire property and benefit from state largesse.

“A religious institution that contravenes this provision commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding five hundred thousand shillings, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both,” the draft Religious Organization Bill 2024 states.

For the first time, the proposed legislation provides for offences described in whole as “harmful religious practices” and which have been wrought on the Kenyan population for years.

It will now be an offence to coerce or intimidate a person to engage in any religious practice that is harmful to the health or detrimental to safety or endangers the life of another person.

This would criminalise practices such as suicide bombing practiced by sections of religious believers or fasting to death which was implemented by indicted doomsday preacher Paul Makenzi. The activities of Makenzi triggered the formation of the taskforce, leading to the drastic recommendations.

“A person who contravenes this is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding five million shillings or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding twenty years or to both,” the draft law states.

It forbids persons from using force, threats, intimidation, fraud or violence to coerce another person into believing or not believing in a religion or belief, recruit a member of a religious organisation, prevent a member from exiting a religious organisation.

Such offenders will be liable upon conviction to a fine not exceeding Sh1 million or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or to both. The draft law also forbids all forms of religious extortion.

“A religious leader who by means of any false and fraudulent representations, tricks or schemes as to healing, blessings or prayers, extorts or fraudulently obtains any financial gain or material benefit from any person or induces the person to deliver money or property to the religious leader commits an offence,” the draft law states.

This would essentially net the entire constellation of faith healers about town, who heal all manner of ailments, including those science has failed to get the means to heal.

They will either be fined Sh1 million or imprisoned for ten years. If unlucky, they will get both the fine and the imprisonment term.

It will also now be an offense to vilify any divergent religious belief of another person, and to do anything that causes harm to or threatens the safety, health or life of that other person. Here, offenders will pay a maximum fine of Sh5 million or imprisonment for a maximum term of 20 years or both.

“Any religious institution which files its returns out of time shall pay such penalty for late filing as may be prescribed,” the draft law says.

To underscore its promise for probity of the sector, the draft law states that any person who makes any false entry in or omission from any return, register of members, account or other document furnished under the law, will have committed an offence.

A religious institution which fails to file its returns for three consecutive years will have its registration cancelled.