While attending a political event with her husband, Raila Odinga’s wife, Ida Odinga, called for church regulation. She requested the regulation, according to her, to stop the unbridled proliferation of worship centers around the country. As a result, she challenged Kenya’s national council of churches to restrict protestant congregations from registering new churches without oversight.
Pastor T Mwangi, who replied to the statement on his own Facebook page, did not appear pleased. He claimed that he was not in the meeting to hear the context and content of the text, but that he believes this is not the first time such a discussion has occurred.
He claimed that Rwanda began with the same discussion and that all it took was a leader who had the same ideology to put it into action, which resulted in the shutdown of churches and mosques. He went on to say that he knows many people who have turned religion into a business, just as there are false doctors, politicians, and other men in various professions.
He further stated that no new churches have been registered since 2014, making the legislation 8 years old. Professor Githu Muigai has submitted a proposal on church regulation, which has already been written and is awaiting approval.
He stated that the state has the right to protect its citizens, but that many people attend churches on their own volition, just as we attend political rallies where we are lied to and still cheer the liar, and that no one has suggested that politics be regulated because you cannot regulate what people do on their own volition.
As a result, he decided that Kenya was and continues to be a secular state incapable of regulating spiritual status the last time he checked. He went on to say that the churches have the answer to all of society’s problems, and that the state should back them up like ancient Rome did. He stated that because this is a political year, such statements could spark major propaganda, as we all know that religion and tribalism play a significant role in Kenyan politics.
