President Uhuru Kenyatta Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta decided to reject plans for rules to regulate religious worship following consultations with religious leaders, the secretary general of the Kenyan Episcopal Conference has said.
Religious Societies Rules 2015, which Kenya’s bishops had believed defied constitutional guarantees of religious freedom and the separation of Church and State, will not now be implemented, according to Fr Daniel Rono, who said the president’s decision was made after a successful consultative deliberation between religious leaders and the government.
Welcoming the decision, Fr Rona acknowledged the government’s legitimate concerns about misuse of religious freedom by fraudulent religious leaders who extort money from worshipers and radicalise young people.
Fr Rono said religious leaders are keen to adopt self-regulation, explaining that Muslim and Hindu leaders as well as evangelical church leaders and leaders from the National Council of Churches of Kenya plan to convene a series of meetings to map out a realistic way forward.