A year after more than 400 members of a Christian sect starved to death in eastern Kenya’s Shakahola forest, a Kenyan task force is calling for policy regulations it hopes will allow the government to better balance religious liberty and human rights.
Paul Mackenzie, who led Shakahola’s Good News International Church, is still in custody awaiting the outcome of the case filed against him by the state. He and his associates have been charged with the death of 191 minors, and authorities believe the victims acted under direction from Mackenzie, an end times preacher who promised them heaven if they starved to death.
“The policy aims at strengthening the right for the use of freedom of religion and at same time to protect the public from potential harm arising from the practice of religion and belief,” the Religious Organizations Policy report stated in its introduction. “It ensures freedom of religion and belief is not used as an avenue to abuse human rights and dignity.”
Its most wide-reaching mandate would force all churches seeking to be legally registered with the government to first affiliate to existing denominations or umbrella groups. These groups include the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK), the Evangelical Alliance of Kenya (EAK), the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Kenya National Congress of Pentecostal Churches, the Kenya Coalition of Churches Alliance and Ministries, and the Organization of African Instituted Churches.
The current law requires churches to register with the Registrar of Societies but does not require them to affiliate with any recognized religious bodies.
Working with the umbrella groups “is a mechanism for self-regulation. It is a better model of regulation,” said Kepha Nyandega, the EAK’s secretary general. “Being accountable is biblical; even Jesus was accountable to God.”
This support reflects a pivot for the EAK, which in 2016 had previously suggested that this level of regulation would hamper evangelism efforts and the growth of the church.
Nyandega explained he favored this proposal, however, because it would allow umbrella groups to self-regulate and crack down when their own members become errant.
“If the bill becomes law, it will bring order in the religious sector and it will also make it easier for religious organizations to operate and work together in a clearly defined legal environment,” he said.
At the same time, Nyandega says, small churches worry that larger congregations “may try to control who may control the membership of the proposed Religious Affairs Commission.” In turn, he has assured small churches that the proposed legislation determines the composition of the commission, and that the commission will represent all interest groups.
The report calls for clergy to have a minimum level of theological training; for the government to regulate religious broadcast content; and for it to more strictly and routinely enforce building code, sanitation, and noise pollution standards. Any new religious organizations seeking government registration will now be vetted by National Intelligence Services (NIS) and county security intelligence committees.
The 14-person task force was commissioned in May 2023 by President William Ruto. Former National NCCK secretary general Mutava Musyimi led the group, which included Christian, Muslim, and Hindu professionals as well as experts of professional bodies. The current EAK chairman and archbishop of Kenya Assemblies of God, Philip Kitoto, and the former chairman and current archbishop of Deliverance Churches in Kenya, Mark Kariuki, were among those serving.
Among its deliverables is a bill that would make the group’s 11 recommendations law. Legislators will debate the bill when the attorney general sends it to parliament later this year.
Members of the public and churches may still have a chance to influence the law that will come out of parliament. Most government-sponsored bills (like the one in question) go first to parliament for debate. Afterward, a committee solicits public feedback and writes a report incorporating the views of the public before presenting it to parliament, where the report is once again debated and amendments are made before the bill finally becomes law.
This report was released to the public just weeks after young people led country-wide protests against the Ruto government and criticized the church for its close relationship with political power. Given this timing, pastors say they have little incentive to publicly oppose the proposed regulation.
“Remember,” said Tony Kiamah of River of God Church in Nairobi, a Kenya Assemblies of God congregation. “The Gen Zs said they will come for the church after they are done with the government.”
The bill would also create the Religious Affairs Commission, which would be led by a Registrar of Religious Organizations (RRO) and create new regulatory standards.
Despite what seem like good intentions, some church leaders worry that additional government oversight will only encourage corruption and that some government officials may take advantage of churches that fail to fulfill the requirements and demand bribes.
“Are we going to allow the government to regulate churches when the government cannot regulate itself?” said Kiamah.
To him, the key to preventing another Shakahola is not religious regulations, because existing institutions are too weak. For instance, although the government has tried to ban cults and religious extremists and prevent false preachers from freely operating, this still persists.
“The law is there to deal with such matters, but corruption is what has hindered our ability to deal with such issues,” he said. “We should strengthen the police service, the intelligence, the judiciary, and other government institutions, and we will be out of the woods.”
The Gikuyu, Embu, Meru and Akamba (GEMA) Unity Forum, a group that represents Pentecostals in predominantly central Kenya, said the proposed regulations would leave them “gagged as a church.”
“Any changes should be subjected to a referendum,” said Nicholas Ikui, a GEMA leader. “Some churches were established before Kenya got her independence. So, I wonder how such would be registered afresh.”
Religious organizations need the government because they lack the capacity and means to punish errant churches, says Joseph Mutungi, the bishop of the Anglican Church of Kenya, Machakos diocese. At the same time, “the government does not have the capacity to determine spiritual matters, which only the Church and other religious organs offer.”
If the report’s recommendations are implemented, the government could investigate claims and complaints against problematic churches. If those were verified, the RRO could deregister and publish names of individuals and groups whose preaching and teachings are seen to be extremist and cultic. Additionally, if the bill passes, any church leader who gives misleading information to the government would be at risk of being fined or imprisoned.
The task force has also recommended revising the national curriculum to educate students about the dangers of religious extremism and emphasize the need for religious tolerance.
While receiving the report, Ruto promised to protect freedom of religion as well as the Kenyan people.
“We will continue to safeguard and protect the freedom of religion, but at the same time mitigate its potential abuse to harm Kenyans,” he said last month.
Moves by the government to regulate churches more directly are not new. As far back as 2015, the government had plans to regulate churches.
Under the plan put forward by then attorney general Githu Muigai, religious entity registration applications had to be accompanied by personal information about its leaders.
Church leaders were to submit a copy of their national identity card, Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) certificate, personal identification pin, a passport photograph, a certified copy of a theological certificate from a duly registered and accredited theological institution, and a tax clearance or exemption certificate.
Religious leaders pushed back, claiming that being forced to declare their salary would require them to pay taxes and that the government was asking for personal details that previously churches had not been required to give to receive registration. The protest ultimately killed Muigai’s efforts.
