By Asa Maina
A group of church leaders from Nyeri county has expressed fears that the registration of the Atheists Society of Kenya will tamper with the education syllabus in the country.
Kenya Congress of Pentecostal Churches Nyeri county chapter chairman Bishop Erastus Njoroge called for the revocation of the society’s registration certificate.
‘The society wants to interfere with the education curriculum in Kenya by having CRE and IRE removed from the syllabus. The society’s registration will also affect people’s faith, learning institutions as well as the church,’ the bishop argued.
The society also wants both the preamble in the Kenyan 2010 Constitution and the national anthem removed. They are also lobbying for the prohibition of public preaching.
The group of church leaders argued that the registration of the atheists’ society will interfere with the Kenyan constitution which recognizes the supremacy of God.
‘We are consulting with other religious leaders before we decide on the next course of action,’ Njoroge added.
The church leaders said the registration is the first of its kind in Africa and that they have reached out to Nyeri town Member of Parliament Ngunjiri Wambugu to help them find out how and why the society was registered yet there has been a moratorium on the registration of societies since 2013.
Wambugu said that he would use Parliament and also find out from the Attorney General’s office and other offices what happened.
The legislator wondered why the government would register a society whose fundamental objectives go against those of the Constitution of Kenya.
‘I want to believe it was a mistake because I do not see how such a society can exist in a country with a constitution like the one we have,’ Wambugu said.
Wambugu, who is also the vice chairman of the Education and Research committee in parliament, said he has consulted with the Ministry of Education over the issue.
