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Outcry in Kisii over ‘kesha’ fees imposed on churches
A section of the clergy in Kisii has condemned plans by the county government to tax churches that hold night vigil prayers, commonly known as keshas.
The County Finance Bill 2023, which has already been passed by the Kisii County Assembly, proposes that churches wishing to conduct keshas will have to pay Sh5,000 per week once Governor Simba Arati signs the bill into law.
In another way of widening the net to increase their own source of revenue, any preacher who takes to the streets to spread the gospel would have to part with Sh2,000 per week to minister to the public.
The fee is even higher for preachers who use loudspeaker-equipped vans, who will have to fork out up to Sh8,000 a week.
A few days after the bill was passed, some members of the clergy lambasted the county leadership for introducing levies on keshas and crusades, which had never been done before.
The chairman of the Kisii Pastors and Clergy Forum, Lawrence Nyanuga, has described the decision as unfortunate and urged Governor Arati not to assent to it without a review of the issues affecting them.
Pastor Nyanuga said the move was the highest form of betrayal the Kisii church had received from elected leaders who he claimed walked with them in the run-up to last year’s general elections.
“They have now turned against us and are imposing levies on us. Yet when they were seeking leadership positions, they were asking us to pray for them and urge our members to support them,” Pastor Nyanuga decried.
He lamented the move to tax the church and instead asked the government to help them reach many souls through evangelism.
“In most cases, keshas do not attract many people. The county government thinks that we are making money by holding night vigils but that is not the case. Churches are not profit making entities and therefore they should not be considered otherwise,” Pastor Nyanuga added.
While the clergy say taxing them is tantamount to taxing God, a section of Kisii residents have welcomed the move to make churches pay these levies, saying it will help regulate preachers and churches that play loud music, especially in residential areas.
“I fully support the move to tax people who conduct keshas. For instance, on Fridays in the area where I live, I hardly get a good night’s sleep because of the competing noise from different churches holding the event. I applaud the Kisii County government for coming up with this proposal, which I believe should have been tabled yesterday. Once this is in place, I am convinced that it will discourage churches and other places of worship from playing loud music and we will be able to sleep peacefully,” said Mr Enock Ogoti, a resident of Daraja Mbili.
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