National guidance and religious affairs minister Rev Godfridah Sumaili says her ministry has with immediate effect taken over the registration of Churches and other faith-based organisations in the country.

In her ministerial statement to Parliament today, Rev Sumaili said the Registrar of Societies has been ordered not to grant any registration certificates to individuals or organisations wanting to do spiritual work without a strict scrutiny from her office.

Rev Sumaili said government was concerned with the mushrooming number of Churches and fake prophets in the country.

She added that Churches which are already registered would also undergo scrutiny before fake ones are deregistered.

“This scrutiny will be extended to foreign mission. Foreigners who come into the country for missionary work will be subjected to this same scrutiny before travel visas are issued for them to travel to Zambia for their missionary work to avoid fake people,” said Rev Sumaili.

“There has to be a code of conduct in the Church, there has to be a minimum standard for Churches in the country. We are therefore working closely with the existing church organisations to empower them so that they can regulate these Churches.”