The symposium was the fifth since 2019, in an annual series, organized by the All Africa Conference of Churches on the subject. The participants in the 29 October – 1 November meeting assembled under the theme, “The role of government’s regulation on churches and religious institutions.” “It is clear that since religion is part of life, culture, and society, it is not possible to be outside the regulative role of governments,” Rev. Dr Fidon Mwombeki, general secretary of the Africa-wide conference told the symposium. “It is important to safeguard the rights of believers and nonbelievers and to moderate between different faiths to ensure order and the wellbeing of all.” Theologians explain misleading theologies as teachings, doctrines, and practices that challenge and misrepresent the sovereignty of Triune God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. According to the theologians, the practices violate the natural human dignity, putting the lives of people, especially congregations, in danger. Recently, the continent has recorded incidents, where rogue clerics have led people to death and defrauded their followers. At the same time, the Lutheran pastor from Tanzania said, governments needed to understand the limits of their regulation, to avoid dictating doctrines and internal practices that might violate the rights of others. Over the years, countries in Africa have attempted to regulate the activities of religious groups and institutions to tame the practices, but the attempts have met stiff resistance. Recently, Rwanda adopted regulation measures that led to the closure of thousands of churches. According to Rev. Dr Judie Kandema, vice president of the Presbyterian Church in Rwanda, the government has implemented the regulations to befriend the churches to make them work alongside the government. “In post-genocide Rwanda, the government plays regulatory role [on] the churches, which seems necessary due to how they behaved in the past and [their] inability…to…self-regulate,” said the leader. Kenya’s latest attempts to regulate religious groups started in 2014, when certificates of good conducts, attaining of theological training for pastors, and church registration and submitting constitutions showing a statement of faith, among other requirements, were proposed. The requirements gained urgency after a pastor in Kilifi County in 2023 led 400 people to fast to death in what is now the Shakahola starvation massacre. “In Shakohola, it became: Where was the church when it happened? Initially, it was: Where was the government?” said Rev. Mutava Musyimi, a former general secretary of the National Council of Churches of Kenya, who after the massacre, led a presidential task force reviewing laws governing churches. Most churches across the continent prefer self-regulation, according to the discussions, with some suggesting that the government did not understand the religious group. “The government cannot regulate something it does not understand,” said Rev. Skonje Ntandazo, from the Moravian Church in South Africa. “It is important we find a balance, how churches would regulate by starting a dialogue with the government. “We have seen people eating grass [in the church] or being sprayed with doom [insecticide], but how do they get protected?” he posed. However, Mwombeki, said while many countries prefer that religious institutions regulate themselves, even that self-regulation needed governmental oversight. | 
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