A section of religious leaders in Uasin Gishu County has asked the government to consider establishing a commission that will be mandated to handle all matters related to the registration of churches.
Led by Uasin Gishu Gospel Ministers chairperson Bishop Wilson Kurui, the church leaders say the commission should be allowed to independently vet and approve applications for opening a church.
Bishop Kurui says there has been an increasing number of churches with questionable teachings, hence the need for regulating the sector.
“There are those churches that preach the true gospel, and we have some that have ungodly teachings. This is why we need a special unit to vet all those churches before they get registered,” the Jesus is Love Ministries Bishop exclusively told uasingishunews.co.ke.
Bishop Kurui argues that even though there is freedom of worship in the country, as enshrined in the Kenyan Constitution, the provision should not be misused by allowing individuals to advance teachings contrary to African culture and the Bible.
“We cannot allow people advocating for the use of bhang among its members, killings or same-sex marriages to own a church just because there is freedom of worship,” he said.
Registration of churches in Kenya
The commission, according to the clergy, will also handle all issues and the welfare of religious organisations.
There have been concerns over delays in the approval of registration requests for churches in the country. The Attorney General suspended the registration of any church in 2014, but it was later lifted.
Churches, Ministries and all religious-based organizations are registered under the Societies Act in Kenya.
All churches and religion-based organizations have to go through a security vetting process prior to registration.
Enhancing freedom of worship is one of the areas that the Kenya Kwanza manifesto has pledged to address, among them fast-tracking registration of all pending applications for churches.
Speaking during the launch of the Kenya Kwanza manifesto on June 30, 2022, Deputy President William Ruto, who is also the coalition’s presidential candidate said his administration will make it easy for anyone to open a church.
Statistics from the government indicate that currently, there are over 4,000 registered churches across the country.
