A summary on the Code of Conduct for Kenyan Churches.
It has always been a principle of Constitutional law that there shall be the separation of Church and the state and indeed in Kenya, that separation has been respected. In the Constitution of Kenya 2010, the #constitution preamble acknowledges the supremacy of God the almighty, and further, gives to every Kenyan in Article 32, the right to right to freedom of conscience, #religion , thought, belief and opinion. Every person has the right, inter alia, to manifest any religion or belief through worship, practice, teaching or observance, including observance of a day of worship. It is also important to state that #kenya allows for all religions to operate equally, without discrimination and with tolerance. This can be evidenced with the national observation of prominent muslim holidays and allowance for the celebration of hindu holidays.
That said, for #christians and their Church leaders, following very unfortunate reports of the abuse of this freedom by some church leaders, leading to the death of citizens, there was an attempt in 2015 to regulate church registrations and activities through the Societies (Religious Societies) Rules, 2015. These were not enacted but recent crimes within the Church and a commission of inquiry into these may very well change that. This is the same tone our neighbours in #uganda are taking but our cousins in #rwanda are already there, ensuring the legal status of all churches, requiring church leaders to posses academic degrees in religious studies and as well, regulating the health, safety and noise pollution levels by churches.
It is in view of that, majority of Church leaders in Kenya under the great stewardship by Hesabika Trust, from an inaugural meeting in February 2018, came together to develop the Code of Conduct for the Church in Kenya. This code was launched on Wednesday 30th August 2023, 5 years after the discussions took place. This is a great milestone for Christians who embody the Church through its leaders, to voluntarily self regulate and abide (in addition to their own governance) to common governance guidelines and principles. Their principle based approach as opposed to a rules based approach is intended to encourage early adoption, higher levels of compliance and promote ethical conduct.
We at Akira Consult, applaud this move not only from a faith standpoint as Christians, but also from a governance standpoint. We look forward to assisting church leaders grasp the code and voluntarily adopt it and stand guided by it. As a start, we share a summary of the Code here below:
1. The Preamble– just like in the Constitution, the code recognises the supremacy of God, freedom of religion, appreciation of different christian denominations and the possibility that man does fall short. It then introduces the need for a common ground for governance in order to promote safe practice of faith.
2. Application Part I, C– The code applies to umbrella bodies (groups of churches), the apex church body (possibly the National Council of Churches in Kenya), individual churches, church leaders and church organisations that participate in social welfare and evangelisation.
3. Guiding Principles and Values Part II F – This contains the spirit of the Code, confirming that it is guided by the spirit of #integrity and #ethics and that all church activities should promote the well being of its faithful. It also reiterates the sanctity of life and its commitment to protect children.
4. Rule of Law Part II G- Commitment to abide by the law of the land and specifically, to promote just laws and uphold confidentiality of its members affairs.
5. Church Leadership and Governance Part II H– Promotes the organisational thinking of putting in the right structures with the right leaders. It also supports an annual gathering of the church leadership for reporting to its members (an AGM) while staying away from politics- whether on the pulpit and also politically aligned funding, conflicts of interest and fair treatment of staff.
6. Stewardship of Finances and Assets Part II I- Being possibly one aspect a lot of members are interested in, the code promotes ethical giving, legal registration of assets in the Church’s name (or in their Trustees), accurate financial statements and reporting to members.
7. Code of Conduct for Church Leaders Part III K– In adhering to the same principles required for the church, Church leaders are expected to act in the best interests of the church, maintain confidentiality over church member affairs, be independent, impartial, act with integrity, abide by church policies, financial integrity, good character and act without discrimination. As well, specific caution against sexual harassment (adopting the Employment Act definition), misleading the church and safe use of social media. All this in line with biblical principles. Churches are required to continuously train and build capacity of its leaders in the faith and Christian teachings.
8.Disciplinary and Complaints handling Procedure Part III L and Disciplinary Action Part IV O– promoting christian teaching of sorting disagreements amicably, the church is to have a committee that resolves such complaints between members and church leaders for non compliance to the code and according to their policies, investigate and take disciplinary action. Should one be dissatisfied, there is an appeal mechanism to an Umbrella body and finally to the Courts. In addition, the process should not violate any legal and constitutional rights, be expedient for both the disciplinary committee and the leader against whom a complaint is lodged. Such disciplinary actions may include a reprimand, restitution (for loss), suspension for a limited period, removal from leadership and expulsion.
9. Dispute prevention and resolution Part IV N– To echo the above, it is the spirit of the code that disputes are resolved according to Bible teaching, which is against unnecessary litigation. The code actively supports alternative dispute resolution. Umbrella bodies and churches may affiliate their disciplinary processes to a Dispute resolution center (possibly Kenyan mediation and arbitration centers) to handle conflicts.
10. Adoption of the Code- Part IV M This is via a deed of adherence, confirming the commitment of the Church, Church organisations, Umbrella Bodies and the Apex body to its guidelines and to Biblical teachings. It may be adopted in full or in part, but without waiving the Preamble, Parts I, II and III. This means it is only the Dispute Resolution and Disciplinary Action sections that may be reserved, but with a clear indication of its practices in the alternative. Adoption shall be by way of signing a declaration form by two authorised signatures and lodging copies with Umbrella bodies (where a church belongs to one), and to Hesabika which shall maintain a database of adopting churches.
Obtain the code at https://hesabika.com/code-of-conduct-of-churches-in-kenya/
Where are you as a Church on your governance journey? At Akira Consult Limited, We are actively championing and training on this code so that you can adopt it with conviction. Reach out to us today- enquiries@akiraconsult.ke. Happy to help be the salt and light.