Religious leaders in Nakuru under the umbrella, Nakuru Pastors’ Fellowship, have opposed a move by Kangema MP Muturi Kigano to table a bill in the National Assembly to regulate the formation and registration of churches.
Addressing media on Tuesday at the Kenya Assemblies of God Church in Freehold, Nakuru, the clergy said MPs should keep off the industry.
Led by Bishop Sammy Ngaho, the leaders supported the move to streamline how churches operate but said such regulations should be developed by religious leaders.
They accused politicians of trying to gag the church through intimidation.
“The church will not be threatened and intimidated by politicians. Let them focus on the developmental agenda of the nation,” Bishop Ngaho said.
Similar sentiments were echoed by Bishop Charles Marita who accused politicians of trying to silence the church.
“We are registered and we follow the law. Then why are politicians worried about us carrying the Bible? Let them focus on development,” he said.
Bishop Nancy Kinuthia said the church plays an important role in praying for the country.
“The society is facing a lot of challenges among them rampant murder, corruption, strikes but we are saying as a church that we shall continue to pray and support the government in addressing the same. We call on Kenyans not to grow weary but stand firm in prayers,” she said.
According to MP Kigano, most churches have been turned into business entities where corruption thrives.
He has proposed a law which intends to end the ‘mushrooming of fake churches’.
Last week, the MP said the current registration process of churches has been hijacked by unscrupulous people who call themselves men of God.
“We even have churches that are made up of three members with the husband being the bishop, wife acting as the pastor or archdeacon and their daughter as the treasurer. This cannot be allowed,” Kigano said.
He accused churches of tax evasion.
“That amounts to corruption because it denies government revenue,” he said.
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