Government urged to vet churches to curb proliferation

Government has been urged to start vetting churches and pastors so as to curb the proliferation of fake pastors and religious groups that were conning Kenyans of cash.
Nyahururu Catholic Diocese Justice and Peace Commission Executive Secretary Mr. Zackary Onkware said that there was a need by the government to come up with a way to regulate churches noting that the number of unauthorized pastors and churches had increased in the past few years.
“The number of unregistered churches and ministries is on the rise. Some of these churches have become ‘over holy’ and have gone to an extent in such a way that they don’t prescribe to modern medicine, they don’t take their children to hospital or for education,” lamented Mr. Onkware in Nyahururu town.
“There should be vetting so as to prevent the misuse of the church by some people who claim to have some powers to heal the sick. Though prayers work miracles, it is best to learn that only God heals, but that cannot happen without treatment,” said Onkware.
He asked the government to crack down on errant individuals operating as administrators of holy-communion, weddings and other religious services.
“Most people are enriching themselves in the name of God. They have turned churches to be their source of employment due to their greedy for money and the government should not allow this to happen anymore,” he added.
Onkware said that the government should set a guideline that would be followed when starting a church.
“Before starting a church, set guidelines should be followed. The church must have reached a certain number of followers and the pastor must prove to have wisdom to guide a congregation,” he added.
By Njoroge Samuel/Charles Njoroge