President William Ruto has weighed in on the controversy around the Religious Organisations Bill, 2024, which is being sponsored in the Senate by Senator Danson Mungatana of Tana River county.
The bill seeks to regulate how churches and other religious institutions undertake their routine activities.
Speaking to the faithful of AIC Milimani Nairobi on Sunday, October 6, the president stated that the government is not after regulating the institutions, adding that they can be allowed space to self-regulate without interference.
Ruto based his pronouncement on the Constitution, which guarantees the freedom of worship.
“We will defend the freedom of worship in our country. Our Constitution is explicit; there can be no limitations on the freedom of worship," said the president.
In addition to the constitution, the president observed that Kenya is founded on religious principles, and thus, any effort to stifle freedom of worship is not welcome.
He asked the drafters of the bill and other quarters with ideas affecting the institutions to engage with the relevant stakeholders for a consensus.
"Apart from what the constitution provides, we are a God-fearing nation, and we will equally defend our faith as Christians and different religions. We will make sure that we protect the freedom of worship in Kenya. I want to ask those with ideas to allow religious leaders themselves to develop how they want to regulate themselves and how the organisations are going forward," said the president.
The bill, according to Senator Mungatana, is aimed at curbing religious extremism in the country to arrest such events as the Shakahola massacre, where hundreds were lured to their deaths under the guise of faith.
It proposes training for religious leaders and a code of conduct to be adhered to by the clerics.
Further, if the bill is enacted, a tax will be introduced on the income and other proceeds the church gets from its activities.
The religious leaders have since come out in their herds to oppose the bill.
They argued that the bill would limit their undertakings and interfere with the traditions in the churches.
