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Tag: Registrar of Societies

  • AG office grants societies two months extension to file returns

    AG office grants societies two months extension to file returns

    Registered societies operating in the country and have not filed their annual returns with the Office of the Attorney General as per the law now risk losing their licenses.

    In a move aimed at ensuring compliance, the Registrar of Societies has issued a notice granting a 60 day period for all registered societies who failed to submit their annual returns by March 31 as required by the law.

    “All registered societies that have not filed their annual returns as required are hereby granted a grace period of sixty (60) days from the date of publication of this notice to comply,” read the notice.

    Under the Societies Act every registered society is required to submit annual returns, accounts and other documents to the registrar.

    Additionally, Rule 13 of the Societies Rules, 1968 provides that the annual return shall be furnished on or before the 31st March in each year, in respect of the immediately preceding calendar year, and shall be submitted in Form I set out in the Schedule to the Rules and signed by three officers of the society.

    However, it appear some societies failed to meet this deadline, prompting the Registrar to grant the extension.

    “Societies that fail to submit the required annual returns within the stated period shall be liable to enforcement action in accordance with Section 12(1)(e) of the Societies Act, which includes issuance of a notice to show cause and may result in the cancellation or suspension of registration. All societies are therefore urged to take immediate steps to comply with the law within the stipulated period,” the office advised.

    According to the Office of the Attorney General, Kenya currently has 224 registered societies.

  • Registrar of societies accused of causing wrangles within SUPKEM

    Registrar of societies accused of causing wrangles within SUPKEM

    The Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims (Supkem) branch in Garissa County has accused the registrar of societies of fueling leadership wrangles in the council.

    A letter by the Registrar of Societies dated January 23, 2023, affirmed that Yusuf Abdulrahman Nzibo was still SUPKEM’s Chairman, as per the 2017 records.

    However, the council says that Nzibo was ousted by the National governing council in 2017, and moved to court to challenge the decision where the case was dismissed last year and the registrar confirmed the team led by Ole Naado as the correct leaders of supkem through a letter referenced SOC/10/997.

    The religious leaders further argue that in September last year, the registrar changed the names of leaders back to the old ones, forcing Supkem to challenge the decision and a court order was issued barring the registrar from interfering with the leadership of the organizations.

    The leaders in Garissa, led by the deputy organizing secretary Deghow Iman reiterated their support for their current chairman Ole Naado who they said is the known SUPKEM chairman.

    “The legal leadership of the supreme council is the team that is led by Hassan Ole Naado based on the process of the constitution of the organization. The national governing council is responsible for the decision of the organization,” Iman said.

    “The registrar of societies has failed this country many times by not being responsible as required by the law. The dispute over the management of faith based organizations has to be done professionally but on many occasions, the registrar has handled the disputes unprofessionally,” he added.

    The team now is calling on the Attorney General Justin Muturi to intervene and reign in the registrar of societies to prevent future disputes within organizations.

  • Govt deregisters Pastor Ezekiel Odero’s church

    Govt deregisters Pastor Ezekiel Odero’s church

    The Registrar of Societies has canceled the registration of Newlife Prayer Centre and Church linked to Pastor Ezekiel Odero in the latest crackdown by the government..

    Other churches deregistered include Helicopter of Christ Church, Theophilus Church, Kings Outreach Church and Goodnews International Ministries.

    The deregistration was done in exercise of the powers conferred by section 12 (1) of the Societies Act. The churches were deregistered with effect from the dates specified in the gazette notice.

    In May this year, Pastor Ezekiel had moved to court to stop the registrar from canceling the registration of his church.

    Read-> Pastor Ezekiel in court to stop deregistration of New Life Church

    In an application his lawyers, Danstan Omari and Cliff Ombeta, Odero expressed concerns that the Registrar of Societies had threatened to cancel the registration of his church, a move that they said was meant to deny him and his congregation the freedom of religion.