It's back to the drawing board for Attorney General as clergy fault new rules

Bishop Mark Kariuki(left) flanked by head of redeemed gospel church Arch-Bishop Arthur Kitonga (center) and Margaret Wanjiru joins other church leaders during a press conference in which they reject an assumption that all pastors ministering on air are fraudsters and that their freedom of of association, expression and worship is constitutionally guaranteed under the bill of rights. Photo by WILLIS AWANDU

The chorus of condemnation from clergy over rules aimed at regulating religious organisations continues to grow louder amid calls to review or drop them altogether.

The rules are contained in The Societies (Religious Societies) Rules 2015, and the Programming Code For Free-to-Air Radio and Television Services from the Communication Authority of Kenya. The rules drafted by the AG’s office are set to be gazetted at the end of January.

The clergy have termed the regulations an affront to the freedom of worship arguing that there are sufficient laws in place to deal with rogue elements.

The matter has elicited varied reactions with President Uhuru Kenyatta asking AG Githu Muigai to review the laws.

So just why are the clergy unhappy with the rules and is regulating operations of religous institutions the way to go? The Societies (Religious Societies) Rules 2015, for instance, provides among other things that clergy hold theological certificates from a registered and accredited theological institution.

This provision has been contested by a section of the clergy who argue that an individual “called to preach” may not have the requisite academic credentials to back his gifting. Others, however, feel the requirement is necessary.

Section 9 of the rules also requires umbrella religious societies to have a membership of not less than 2,500 religious societies. An example of an umbrella organisation is the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK). The rules also require churches to annually submit records of their members.

The requirements, according to Dr Wellington Mutiso, Moderator Baptist Convention Of Kenya, may be difficult to meet and may not necessarily address the problem.

“Even an umbrella organisation like the NCCK whose main members include Anglican Church of Kenya, Presbyterian Church of East Africa, Methodist and Quakers, may only have about 50 members. If we are to consider this requirement, how then would the Catholic church, for instance, which is just one fit into this?” poses Mutiso.

The Catholic Church has also taken issue with the proposed regulations arguing that some sections are unrealistic.

In a statement by Rt Rev Philip Anyolo, Chair of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops, says the work of winning souls for Christ is an ongoing task and to demand that all faiths keep records of people won for Christ every minute and those who have become inactive is logistically unrealistic and untenable.

“Further to that the new rules give the Registrar sweeping powers including power to invade churches to conduct impromptu audits. This is to say the least a license for the government to violate constitutionally guaranteed freedom of worship. The Catholic Church is not a business, neither is it a non government organisation or civil society. The Catholic Church is a people of God and as such the State cannot purport to audit the faith of the people of God.”

To demand that all faiths register followers, he says, will only serve to convert churches into mere registration centres, instead of citadels of hope for millions given that matters of faith are not about numbers.

“They are about conversion to the soul,” he says.

This is in reaction to Section 12 of the rules that require religious societies to provide details of their members. The road to crafting rules to regulate operations of religious bodies has been rather bumpy, with persistent claims from religious leaders of little or no consultations over the matter.

It will be recalled that sometime in November 2014, a section of clerics stormed out of a meeting with the AG, in Nairobi over the issue.

The momentum to regulate operations of religious institutions gathered pace following an expose by KTN on pastor Victor Kanyari who was allegedly fleecing his congregation by using fake miracles. EAK chair Bishop Mark Kariuki, at the time, said there was no crisis to warrant the Government’s attempt to control or muzzle religious institutions by introducing new regulations.

Machakos University’s Dr Alex Kamwiria, dean humanities and social sciences draws parallels between the current situation and what was witnessed historically during the spread of Christianity that saw the rise of people like Simon Magus who used magic to perform so called miraculous works. But even then, he argues, there was no time that the Roman State saw it fit to regulate religion.

“The move to have the State regulate religion is retrogressive,” he says.

So what should be done to rein in rogue pastors?

“Let the faith continue and let those practising it regulate themselves. Religion, he says has a lot to do with the mind of an individual and its therefore difficult for the State to regulate people’s beliefs by setting a standard for what qualifies as genuine religion,” he says.

“We should be asking ourselves why many people are drawn to such pastors. Could it be because we are grappling with challenges of a harsh economy, sickness, insecurity because these kinds of situations push people to find solace in religion,” he adds.

Christ Is The Answer Ministries Presiding Bishop David Oginde, takes issue, for instance, with regulations from the Communication Authority, that seemingly bar clergy from seeking monetary contributions from viewers, saying it falls short of appreciating that the church, like other institutions has embraced radio, television and the internet as avenues of reaching their listeners, who may want to support the ministries, financially.

A senior lecturer at the Chuka University Dr Dickson Nkonge also weighs in on the subject of whether regulating religious institutions will help tame rogue preachers.

“It’s rather tricky because while the Constitution guarantees freedom of worship, we cannot deny that there is a problem. Some preachers are out rightly engaging in criminal acts in the name of God and should be held to account,” says Nkonge, a prelate in the Anglican church.