The Minister for Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs has called on the general public to disregard Whatsapp messages by some religious people purporting that government was taking deliberate actions towards undermining the Christian faith in the on-going stakeholder consultations on the proposed National Policy on Religion being pursued by the Ministry in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNPF).

The Management of the Ministry urged the public to disregard such messages that seek to question the purpose of the stakeholder consultations and appears to set one religion against others in direct contrast to the very goal of the propose policy which is geared towards “an inclusive and tolerant religious environment for social cohesion and peaceful coexistence.”

It indicated that there is “currently limited information that deals with a comprehensive database of religious organisations in the country, a challenge that the proposed National Policy on Religion seeks to address.”

It further indicated that since the beginning of the stakeholder consultations, a number of religious organisations including Christian groups, have for requested for the registration of their prospective organisations by the Ministry.

It added that the stakeholder consultations are designed as a “public forum with no voting purposes intended either.”