Attorney General Githu Muigai has bowed to pressure from religious leaders and ordered for the immediate suspension of the registration of Atheists Society of Kenya.
In a statement on Saturday, the Attorney General said the legality of the registration of the Atheist Society will be determined by the Supreme Court.
But in a swift rejoinder the Atheists Society said they had not been served with the notice by Mr Muigai.
“We have not received any formal commutation from the Attorney General regarding suspension of our registration” said the President of Atheists in Kenya Harrison Mumia in a statement.
The religious leaders had on Friday called for the resignation of the Attorney General for permitting the registration of the Atheists society.
Kenya National Congress of Pentecostal Churches and Ministries had argued that it is “abominable and unconstitutional” for the society to be registered.
“It is foolhardy to act as if there is no God, and worse, to try to validate that theory by registering an association,” congress vice chair Stephen Ndichu said on Friday.
“As people who believe in God, we register our disgust to the AG for the way he has casually and in utter contempt been handling religious issues. He has now touched the nerve of every person of faith by registering a society that denies the existence of God,” said Mr Ndichu
But the Atheists Society did not take the statement by the church leaders lightly, insisting that they enjoy the right not to worship, just like the christian leaders enjoy the right to worship.
“We are surprised that some religious leaders, including Stephen Ndicho, a former MP and Bishop Margaret Wanjiru are calling for the resignation of the Attorney General Githu Muigai for registering the Atheists In Kenya Society. This is unfortunate.
“Religious leaders should know that atheists have rights. Our constitution protects the rights of all Kenyans to exercise fundamental freedoms, including the freedom of conscience and association, ” the President of Atheists Society Harrison Mumia said in a statement.
The Atheists Society was set to hold a party on Friday at a night club located on Kimathi Street, at the heart of the city centre.
The Atheist Society has 5,000 members. The organisation launched countrywide recruitment and advocates scrapping of religious studies from the education syllabus.
