Kenya’s Office of the Attorney General has introduced new rules, expected to take effect next month, with the aim of regulating religious organisations and their leaders, officials said.
The Religious Societies Compliance Rules, drafted in December and open for deliberation until February 18th, will require clerics and administrators of religious organisations to register with the authorities or face revocation of their licences, Deputy Registrar of Societies Joseph Onyango told Sabahi.
Under the new rules, religious leaders must obtain certificates of clearance from the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), and all religious organisations must file annual tax returns, he said.
Priests, imams, swamis and the administrative officers of religious establishments, such as trustees and committee members, will have to provide their personal identification numbers and a copy of their national identification card, copies of their tax clearance or tax exemption certificates, certificates of good conduct from the CID and EACC, and professional credentials in order to operate lawfully, Onyango said.
In addition, religious institutions will have to list the location of each branch, the leaders and administrators associated with each location, and any other affiliated organisations, he said.
Missionaries and international preachers also will be required to obtain a letter of recommendation from their respective embassies and a Kenyan work permit.
Onyango said the government developed more stringent rules to regulate faith-based organisations in response to public complaints that some were extorting money under false pretences.
“We were pushed to this following the outcry from the public on how some religious leaders were taking advantage of their flocks by fleecing them of their hard earned cash in exchange for miracles,” he said.
“Others are using these religious institutions and holy scriptures to indoctrinate followers with extremist ideology,” he said. “Therefore, this is the way to go so we can know the rogue ones [and] can hold them individually accountable.”
The goal is to create a culture of transparency among religious institutions and keep leaders accountable, he said.
Religious leaders mixed on new rules
Some religious leaders say the new rules are well intentioned and they have no objection to complying with them, but others reject what they say is an over-extension of the government’s reach.
Bishop Boniface Adoyo, moderator of the Inter-Religious Council of Kenya, described the regulations as “absurd” and said the council would take legal action to block them if they are adopted.
“This is a wrong move bordering on dictatorial tendencies where we see government attempting to control almost everything,” he told Sabahi. “The move violates freedom of worship.”
“We are seeing a dangerous trend,” he said. “With every challenge facing the country, officials are quick to enact laws and regulations while they have not implemented the existing laws fully.”
While acknowledging there are some religious leaders whose actions are questionable, he said there are sufficient laws already in place that can be used to address them.
“Yes, there those among us who are conning their followers and those indoctrinating their faithful with extremist ideology, but the current laws on fraud and that of anti-terrorism are stringent enough to deal with these issues,” he said.
Forcing churches and mosques to file annual returns and give details about their members and leaders amounts to turning religious institutions into businesses and political entities, he said.
“Mosques and churches exist for spiritual and general moral nourishment of a given population,” he said. “We should not be forced to adopt a business and political agenda.”
“Furthermore, if these details are needed so as to open up avenues for the government to tax us, then they have misplaced priorities, because you should not use religious organisations to open up a taxation bracket.”
Alms given to the church are already taxed and should not be subjected to further taxation, he added.
For his part, Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims Deputy Secretary General Hassan ole Nado said he had no major objection to the new regulations, saying they are in line with Kenya’s constitution.
“When Kenya promulgated its constitution in 2010, it adopted an entire chapter on leadership and integrity that has been mainly focused on state officers and public servants,” he told Sabahi. “However, religious leaders serve the public too, and there should be a mechanism to check on their integrity as well.”
“I see nothing wrong with these rules which demand that religious leaders be people of high moral standing and with integrity beyond reproach,” he said.
In addition to keeping rogue religious leaders in check, requiring institutions to file an annual tax return will help to ensure financial accountability and promote transparency, he said.
Clerics can still respond to draft regulations
Chair of the Nyanza Council of Church Leaders, Bishop Washington Ndege, said church leaders were surprised by the new regulations.
“The rules were done without our input, which abuses the principle of public and stakeholder participation,” he told Sabahi, requesting that the council be given the opportunity to provide input.
Onyango, however, said the proposed rules had been developed with input from religious leaders.
“We sent out a circular [to religious institutions] on December 18th on the proposed rules after consultations were held on December 14th, 2014, between the Attorney General Githu Muigai and religious leaders at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre in Nairobi,” he said.
In the circular, religious institutions were given 60 days to comply with or advance any concerns and request changes. “We have not closed the consultation doors, the leaders still have time as the 60 days we gave them has not elapsed yet,” Onyango said.
Nonetheless, he said, organisations that fail to comply with the new Religious Societies Compliance Rules once they come into full effect February 18th will have their licenses revoked.
“We are not in the business of controlling anyone, but we are only out to bring order,” he added.
Sabahi Online
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