AG Githu Muigai fires first shot at ‘seed’ pastors
What you need to know:
- Prof Muigai invited all religious organisations to a meeting on Friday to discuss draft regulations drawn up by his office.
- The suspension of registration of new churches and mosques took effect on Tuesday.
Attorney-General Githu Muigai on Tuesday took the first step in streamlining churches and mosques by suspending registration of new ones until fresh regulations are set.
Prof Muigai invited all religious organisations to a meeting on Friday to discuss draft regulations drawn up by his office.
“Recent media reports on alleged illicit activities by certain religious institutions have necessitated us to take remedial action,” he said in a statement.
The suspension of registration took effect on Tuesday.
The decision follows a report in the Nation on Monday that the government was planning to regulate the registration of all religious organisations to weed out those who want to commercialise churches and stop mosques from being used as breeding grounds for terrorists.
This was prompted by a TV documentary exposing the dirty tricks used by Salvation Healing Ministry’s leader Victor Kanyari to make millions out of his followers in the name of “seed money”.
FILE RETURNS
On Tuesday, Prof Muigai also directed existing religious organisations to file returns of their current status with the Registrar of Societies.
The information, said the AG, must include the full name of the organisation, registration number, date of registration, full particulars of office bearers, copy of identity cards, passport photos and a copy of the Kenya Revenue Authority’s personal identification number.
The AG further said: “The State Law Office has also invited various religious organisations, the parliamentary Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs, and the Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution for a meeting to be held on Friday November 14, 2014, to discuss proposed regulations on religious organisations operating in Kenya.”
Aware that the Constitution provides for the freedom of worship, Prof Muigai said that the government was only seeking to hold religious leaders accountable to their flock.
“The idea of religious freedom is fundamental. However, it cannot be left without oversight. People want the government to do more,” he said.
