Mungatana Withdraws Religious Organisations Bill – Kenyans.co.ke

Tana River Senator Danson Mungatana on Wednesday, November 27, withdrew the Religious Organizations Bill, 2024.

The senator’s withdrawal of the contentious Bill came after he held talks with clergy from the Pentecostals and Evangelicals Association. In a joint presser, Mungatana, the sponsor of the Bill, revealed that he had formally written to the Speaker of the Senate seeking to withdraw the Bill.

On the other hand, the religious leaders agreed to form a task force that will develop a comprehensive framework for self-regulation. The clergy also agreed to withdraw all civil cases filed in court challenging the religious Bill.

Mungatana disclosed that there was a need to involve all the necessary stakeholders before moving to form any legislation and expressed optimism at the new development.

“I have withdrawn the Bill so that we can all get an opportunity to involve all the necessary stakeholders and come up with a broad framework for developing legislation in the future. We want to come up with a regulation law that is good for everybody,” he stated.

In the Bill, Mungatana had proposed the establishment of the office of registrar for religious organisations such as churches, which would issue or revoke the registration of religious organisations and religious leaders. 

In addition, it also proposed a KSh 5 million fine or 3-year sentence for churches and clergymen who do not register in compliance with the law if it had been passed.

Eligibility for registration of religious organisations was to be supported by 25 people professing the same faith, a religious leader with a certified theology education, and a doctrinal constitution. 

The bill was set to mandate religious bodies to create separate bank accounts for offerings and tithes with those for income generated from other economic activities like selling merchandise; failure to which would attract a Ksh1 million fine or a 2-year prison sentence.

“Offerings, tithes, donations, bequests, gifts granted to religious organisations and umbrella religious organisations shall only be exempt from taxation where the organisation demonstrates that such income is for purposes beneficial to society,” the bill stated.

Churches would have been required to file returns with the tax authority, presenting audited accounts for the financial year, bank statements, addresses of physical location, list of religious leaders that year, and a tax exemption or clearance certificate.  

Mungatana proposed the Bill in September 2024 triggering a back-and-forth exchange between him and the religious leaders. He cited the Shakahola massacre as a reason for putting forward the Bill in order to prevent extremist religious inclinations. Even so, the tax-exemption status for religious organisations in Kenya has been subject to fiery debate over the years.