Why church associations, clergy are opposing religious bill

The clergy under the Cleric and Church Association Of Kenya(CCAK) have opposed the newly ascended to Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes (Amendment) Act, 2024.

The Act was among eight Bills ascended into law last week Wednesday by President William Ruto on the morning of October 15, the day former Prime Minister Raila Odinga passed away in India.

They also rejected the Religious Organisation Bill, 2024, which has been proposed by former MP Rev. Mutava Musyimi.

The clergy said Kenya has come a long way especially in the quest for democracy, justice and fairness,  which gives all of the citizens the responsibility to continue fighting for their democratic space.

“The church cannot therefore keep silent at a time when unconstitutional and oppressive laws are passed by a parliament which derives its power from the people,” said Bishop Hudson Ndeda, chairman of CCAK  during a press conference in Nairobi yesterday.

He added: “We continue to reiterate that the Computer Misuse and Cyber Crime (Amendment) Act contains sections that are punitive and oppressive. In a society where young people utilise electronic gadgets to agitate for better rights and earning a living through content creation, the parliamentarians were not mindful when passing this law.”

Under the new law, which  seeks to strengthen the 2018 legislation by introducing tougher penalties for offences such as cyber harassment, identity theft, phishing and data breaches and offenders face a fine not exceeding Sh20 million or imprisonment for up to 10 years or both. 

The concern of the church, they said is that 2027 is approaching and having such a law in our country is not good for the political climate.

“We have also noted with concern the issue on Religious extremism in the said bill which in our view is open to abuse and will be used to persecute innocent clergy serving the people of God, this targets online preaching and Christian TV contents, we strongly reject that,” said Bishop Ndeda.

The clergy also lauded the High Court through Justice Lawrence Mugambi for issuing Conservatory Orders against the said law, saying they hope that justice shall prevail.

Petitioners and institutions including former Presidential candidate and gospel musician and human rights defender Reuben Kigame and Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) have gone to court to stop implementation of the new law.

Asked whether their views were sought while coming up with the Bill, Bishop Ndeda said no since the law was passed secretary without public participation.

On the introduction of the Religious Bill 2024 as it is, they said the same punitive fines and jail terms proposed in are the same being introduced in the Computer Misuse and Cybercrime Bill.

“The mention of some Umbrella bodies in the formation of the Commission in the bill is suspect and discriminative and goes against freedom of association,” said Bishop Ndeda.

He added: “Let it be on record we don't subscribe to them and therefore they don't represent our views in any way. We urge that the Bill needs to go through robust public participation and not the hasty one being encouraged by the government.”

The call for public participation on the draft Religious Organisations Policy, 2024 and Bill, 2024, has concluded, with the submission deadline having been October 22, 2025.

“We kindly urge the President to intervene and ensure that the said Religious Bill mirrors the proposals made by the Clergy from across the country,” said Bishop Jones Ochieng, secretary general of CCAK.

The clergy said the constitution is clear that state and religion shall be separate hence they wonder why the government is keen on regulating religious institutions while introducing punitive fines and jail terms.

“The church is apprehensive that in the event this bill sees the light of day, the supposedly fight against religious extremism will crack down on online preaching, target Christian television content hence intimidate the clergy from discharging their duties,” he said.

“We also urge Parliament to focus on passing Bills that are meaningful to Kenyans such that will alleviate the suffering of Kenyans like the cost of living free education for all among others instead of laws that curtails Constitutional freedoms. We urge Kenyans to keep their eye on their representatives in Parliament to see that they serve the interests of the electorate,” Bishop Ochieng added.

The cleric also added their condemnation to the recent remarks made by Nyeri County Governor Mutahi Kahiga on the passing of Raila Odinga.

“He is not fit for leadership and should resign from the honourable position he holds. We urge other like-minded leaders to cease from such insensitive behaviour and consider that Kenya must unite and achieve her destiny,” said Bishop Ochieng.