Minister Lokodo insists that proposed religious policy is in good faith

The minister of Ethic and Integrity Fr Simon Lokodo, has insisted that the Religious Faith Organisation Policy is not targeting any particular religious faith organisation.

Lokodo was responding to allegations that the policy was only introduced to control the increasing power and popularity of Pentecostal churches.

Though government's plan to formulate a policy to regulate religious faith organisations in the country has received a lot of opposition from some pastors, Lokodo said policy is not targeting any religious denomination.

This comes after some born again pastors expressed their dissatisfaction with the policy which they think is a violation of their rights to worship.

However, Lokodo noted :"This policy does not point a finger at one respective religious faith organisation but it is pointing the finger to the way some religious faith organisations do practice their religiosity. So it is about individuals not about an entity,"

He noted that the validation meeting which was supposed to be held on Thursday was cancelled because many stakeholders had not yet been consulted.

“We realize the message reached these high levelled personalities late. In other words it caught them unaware and they had not yet consulted with their respective constituency,"he said.

While addressing the media at the media centre on Friday, Lokodo refuted all allegations that he is under pressure to present the policy.

He noted that the policy is to mainly regulate all faiths in the country and also protect believers from extortion.

“One or two of our pastors focus more on self-enrichment than feeding spiritually.  That’s why I am talking of exploitation, manipulation, extortion... in order to get blessing you must pay so much,"he said.

Pastor Simon Ssenyonga from Zoe ministries said the policy is more motivated by the politics than a desire to regulate faith organisations in the country as claimed by the minister.

"This policy is demonic ,it is satanic, it is an attempt by the politicians especially the president to muzzle the freedom of the church and we called upon the government and the general public to dismiss this policy with contempt,"he said.