A group of evangelical churches want Members of Parliament to reject the Constitution of Kenya (Review) Amendment Bill.

At the same time, the church leaders announced that they would go to court to block the inclusion of the Ufungamano group in the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission.

They also demanded that they be allowed to nominate 12 members to sit in the commission "since it has opened its door to everybody."

"The Bill has discrepancies and should, therefore, not be passed until proper representation to the review commission has been effected," Bishop Gerry Kibarabara of the Gospel Assemblies of Kenya, who read the statement on behalf of evangelical, pentecostal, independent and indigenous churches, said yesterday.

Parliament is expected to vote on the Constitution of Kenya Review (Amendment) Bill today. The Bill will pave the way for a merger between the Ufungamano group and the review commission.

Addressing the media at a Nairobi hotel, Bishop Kibarabara accused Parliament of allowing "a legitimate group to merge with an illegitimate one."

"As leaders representing more than 12 million Christians, we are not opposed to a merger but we caution that a serious error is being perpetrated whose consequences in the short and long run will be enormous," he said.

Bishop Joseph Ogutu of the St John Everlasting Gospel Church said their written concerns about the Bill and the merger to Attorney-General Amos Wako, Parliamentary Select Committee chairman Raila Odinga and Constitution of Kenya Review Commission chairman Yash Pal Ghai had been ignored.

Bishop Ogutu said the PSC should have consulted church leaders before accepting to merge with the Ufungamano group.

"We feel that when the PSC decided to negotiate with unregistered bodies to review the Constitution, proper representation was not effected."

Bishop Arthur Kitonga of the Redeemed Gospel Church denied that the group consisted of "spoilers". "We represent many Christians and we are only fighting for our rights. We have qualified people who can represent us in the Commission."

Bishop Jefferson Nyatuka of Calvary Covenant Church accused Parliament of opening its gates to "hecklers who claim to be representing stakeholders."

"If the law can be bent to accommodate the Ufungamano team, we do not see why it should not be bent to accommodate us," he said.