Should churches and religious leaders be regulated?

Africa Daily

Religion is a close to the heart of many Africans – closely linked as it is to identity, culture and values.

So no-one will have been surprised at the ferocious response to the BBC Africa Eye documentary series called ‘Disciples: The Cult of TB Joshua’ – in which a number of former followers recounted experiences including sexual abuse, rape and manipulation by the self-proclaimed prophet.

But do allegations of abuse of power – levelled at a number of religious leaders over the years – suggest regulation is needed? And how can the followers of different religious groups be best protected?

Today on Africa Daily, Alan Kasujja brings together two Christian theologians who’ve wrestled with this question: Bishop Zac Niringiye, who was assistant Bishop of Kampala with the Church of Uganda, and Rev Dr Kenneth Ofula, a priest in his Anglican Church of Kenya and currently Tutorial Fellow at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford University.