Wayward preachers belong in Kamiti, says Uhuru

President Uhuru Kenyatta has for the second time warned rogue pastors who fleece their flock that their criminal behaviour should not go unpunished.

Mr Kenyatta said there were a few wayward individuals that were using the name of God to fleece poor Kenyans and as such they should be punished.

“We do not want to interfere with the church, but we want to work with them so that they can self-regulate. There are those people, and I do not need to say them here because you all know them,  who are using the name of God to lie to poor Kenyans. Those ones do not belong here, they should be in Kamiti Prison,” Mr Kenyatta said.

Speaking at the Western Union Congress headquarters' opening ceremony for the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Kisumu, Mr Kenyatta urged churches to self-regulate, saying the State has no intention of controlling religious institutions.

Mr Kenyatta said that the suspension of the rules to govern religious organisations in January this year was done to allow the church to self-regulate.

PROPOSED RULES

The President suspended the proposed Societies (Religious Societies) Rules, 2015 on January 28 following public uproar over the perceived encroachment of State on religious freedom.

President Kenyatta has already directed the Attorney-General Githu Muigai to sit down with religious leaders to devise an acceptable legal framework.

“The outcome will be [the] development of firm and fair regulations that uphold the sacrosanct principles of religious freedom that underpin our democratic ideals as guaranteed by our constitution,” said President Kenyatta when he suspended the proposed regulations.

The proposed rules, dated December 18, are aimed at regulating religious bodies and will affect all faiths, including Christian, Hindu and Islamic institutions as well as other groupings that have been accused of conning and brainwashing their followers or engaging in radicalisation and other dangerous doctrines.

If adopted, the regulations from the Attorney-General’s office will require imams, pastors, rabbis and other religious leaders to obtain certificates of good conduct from the police and clearance from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission.

There are separate rules for foreigners seeking to carry out religious work in Kenya.

Earlier, Kabondo Kasipul MP Silvance Osele had supported the new regulations, saying that they should be guided by law.

Mr Osele, an SDA member, said: “Religious organisations and the things that happen in the pulpit must be guided by law and God.”

Kisumu West MP Olago Aluoch asked church leaders to solve issues “like the SDA.”

“I have always loved how the SDA solve their issues and we want to emulate them. They sit round the table and discuss things,” said Mr Aluoch.

Education CS Fred Matiang’i, who had invited the President for the function, asked the church to work with him to fight against corruption and to foster peace and unity.

Governors Jack Ranguma (Kisumu), John Nyagarama (Nyamira), Cyprian Awiti( Homa Bay), MP Ken Obura (Kisumu Central), and Salaries and Remuneration Commission chair Sarah Serem were among dignitaries in attendance at the event.