The Law Society of Kenya North Rift branch and clerics in the region have threatened to move to court should the government proceed with the implementation of the Religious Organisations Policy, 2024 and the accompanying Religious Organisations Bill, 2024.
A public participation exercise on the proposed laws was to be carried out in Eldoret and other parts of the country starting Monday, but was put off at the last minute.
LSK branch chairman Oscar Oduor and a number of church leaders had turned up for the public participation at the Eldoret County Hall, where they addressed the media faulting the state on the proposed legislation and policy.
“We had come here in public interest to make it clear that we are opposed to any legislation or policy that will curtail the freedom of worship for Kenyans as enshrined in our constitution,” Oduor said.
Of great concern was the attempt to “ambush Kenyans with poorly-organised and hurried public participation forums” that would not give citizens time to understand the proposed legislation.
“Courts have clearly said that there must be ample time given for public participation in such important matters in the country. We can not accept anything short of that on this matter,” he said.
Oduor explained that the government should have distributed the Bill and proposed policy widely, before calling for public participation exercise.
The State Department for National Government Coordination had in a notice published on December 9, released the schedule and venues for public participation on the two draft legislations.
“The overall objective of these instruments is to provide a framework for regulation of religious organisations to combat religious extremism and the abuse of the freedom of religion and connected purposes,” the notice read.
The forums were to take place between December 15 and December 19, giving Kenyans four days to present their views on the proposed regulatory framework.
According to Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, the postponement of the process and public engagement would continue next year.
The delay aims to provide an opportunity for exhaustive public participation among the diverse religious groups, Mudavadi added.
High-profile incidents involving sects have raised questions about regulation, accountability and public safety and led to increasing scrutiny of religious institutions.
The Shakahola Forest incident, which claimed hundreds of lives, underscored the urgent need for a regulatory framework to govern religious organisations, the government said.
However, Oduor and the North Rift leaders accused the government of seeking to hide behind the challenges in the sector to come up with laws that would have the state infringe religious freedoms.
