Pentecostal association rejects bill seeking to tame rogue preachers

The Pentecostal Voice of Kenya association (PVK) has voiced concerns regarding the proposed Religious Organizations Bill 2024, commonly known as the Mungatana Bill, which they say if passed will massively cripple church operations.

The church leaders say after reviewing the bill, they have identified several regressive provisions that threaten to infringe upon the freedom of worship guaranteed by Article 32 of the 2010 Constitution.

Speaking on Monday, the association members expressed discontentment with some of the clauses highlighted in the proposed bill.

They argue that the bill threatens to criminalize the preaching of the gospel by imposing a penalty of up to Ksh.10 million or imprisonment of up to five years, or both, which restrict individuals from freely preaching on radios, televisions, or conducting crusades.

Furthermore, the leaders stated that the bill also wants to grant counties the authority to manage and interfere in the internal affairs of churches, which they say will allow politicians to intrude into church matters and intimidate pastors who speak out on governance issues.

They further argued that the bill would also exclude pastors from church management and operations, enabling politicians, through county governments, to appoint officials to oversee church operations.

Additionally, in Clause 11, which mandates that churches must join an umbrella organization, the leaders state that this will disrupt the freedom of worship.

The leaders also mentioned that Clause 10 which requires churches to re-register under the new legislation, will lead to confusion, foster corruption and incur unnecessary costs.

“It is widely known that Senator Danson Mungatana chaired the Ad Hoc Committee that looked into the unfortunate Shakahola incident. However we at PVK believe that it is unjust to penalise the entire church for the actions of a few individuals,” Apostle Peter Manyuru, chairperson of the association stated.

The church leaders maintained that they rejected the proposed bill, expressing that they never anticipated that they would face persecution from the very politicians that they encouraged their congregants to support.