CS Kithure Kindiki - Pastor Mackenzie is going to stay in prison for life, even if he is released by the courts

 

The interior cabinet secretary Kithure Kindiki has urged Kenyans to actively participate in sharing their viewpoints with the task force on regulations governing religious groups, which Mutava Musimi is chairing.

Kindiki said on Monday at the launching of the Taita Sub-County Police Headquarters and Police Station in Taita-Taveta's Wundanyi that the task force's timetable for public hearings has been made available.

Kindiki reassured Kenyans that a similar tragedy wouldn't strike their country again when making comments on the Shakahola Forest massacre, which exposed the activities of the starving cult headed by notorious televangelist Paul Mackenzie of the Good News International Church.

"I want to encourage everyone in Kenya to share their opinions with the task force. "Anyone who tries to use religion as a cover to torment our people must face harsh punishment," he warned.

The Interior Secretary made a plea to the nation's religious authorities to work with the government in eradicating dishonest preachers who have persisted in misleading their flocks in the name of the Bible.

Kindiki said that the effort to regulate the religious industry is not intended to harm the church in any way but rather to simplify its activities and protect Kenyans from being used by dishonest preachers acting in their own self-interest.

Kindiki made it clear that the taskforce's goal was not to victimise the church but rather to simplify its operations and shield Kenyans from being duped by rogue pastors with self-serving agendas.

"The religious leaders make a positive contribution to the lives of our people in a 99 percent honest manner. I kindly request their assistance in identifying, isolating, and punishing the few thieves who cover their tracks with the Bible," Kindiki stated.

Kindiki's petition comes to a short while after the task group on the overhaul of the legislative and regulatory framework controlling religious organisations requested submissions from the public about the modifications needed to stop religious extremist organisations.

Between June 13 and August 8, the 17-member committee's office at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) is asking for written submissions, either physically or electronically. Reverend Musyimi is the committee's chairman.

According to a notification issued, the task force will perform county-based citizen interaction throughout the 47 counties even while the public is submitting its hard copy memoranda.

According to the advertising, "the taskforce invites institutions, organisations, and individuals to submit responses on our website, religiousorganizations.taskforce@headofpublicservice.go.ke, in line with the constitutional requirement to guarantee widespread engagement and public involvement."

Before presenting the report that will be used to regulate how religious institutions are run in the nation, the task force will engage the public in a number of forums, with the first engagement starting on June 13 in Kilifi County.

The task force's primary duties will be to discover the legal loopholes that enabled extreme religious organisations to establish themselves in Kenya and to create a framework that forbids such organisations from functioning there.

 

"Mackenzie is going to stay in prison for life, even if he is released by the courts," said CS Kithure Kindiki. He will act as an example to other rogue preachers in Kenya.