There was jubilation among clergymen after the Inter-Faith Council constituted by President Uhuru Kenyatta recommended the reopening of worship centers – By Gerald Gekara.
However, the council recommended the resumption of services with a barrage of instructions to be followed during the administering of the service.
Such regulations included the restriction of the carrying capacity of a church to just 100 people per service. Each service was then advised to take a maximum of 1 Hour.
The move was reproached by various church leaders who protested the regulations were difficult to follow, owing to the nature of different services. Some pointed out that the regulation favored the Catholics for their ‘strict service timing’.
Safer TV church Services
Other grievances raised by the clergymen was the restriction of the age of churchgoers to just 13 – 58-year-olds. The leaders argued that a majority of the faithful fell under the age group.
Despite this, orders of service were made, regulations were met, and Kenyans still appeared to be reluctant to turn up for service.
For instance on Seventh Day Adventist church in Ruai could barely carry the 100 people tag, registering only 40 members.
While speaking to an absent member, Mary (not her name) says she opts for a family service at home to avoid exposing her family.
“I’d rather stay healthy at my home because there is a vibrant TV service that we will follow instead of exposing myself to the virus while trying to get a chair in church,” she said.
The sentiments were echoed among members of the PCEA church in Umoja who added that the move would only signal greater problems as congregants appeared to flock entrances while switching services.
“As soon as the first service is over, the Ushers were struggling to organize the next set of worshippers. This is risky as someone can contract COVID-19 in the church” Added one Erastus.
Big Worship Centers
However, in other areas, Christians turned up in places of worship Sunday churches conducting their services in strict adherence to the COVID-19 precautionary guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health.
They applauded the government for allowing the faithful to go back to church, saying that this provided a good opportunity to retrace their steps back to God.
Other leaders however urged the government to reconsider the capacity, adding that some places of worship can hold more people.
A section of Muslim leaders also echoed the same sentiments.
The Kenya Muslims National Advisory Council (Kemnac) chairman Sheikh Juma Ngao asked the Inter-Faith Council to check Mosque capacities as there are those which can hold more than 100 people per session while observing social distancing.
“If the mosque has a capacity of 300 people then it should be allowed to hold 150 people in that session,” he said.
