Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) students now have a right not to attend classes on Saturday after a court ruled in favor of a case filed by the Church’s Lawyer Jackson Awele.
Case Court Ruling
The three judge bench consisting of Judges Kathurima Mn’oti, William Ouko and Asike Makhandia indicated that every person in Kenya has a right to worship and forcing SDA students to attend classes on Saturday will be an infringement of their constitutional right.
The judge asked the Cabinet Sectary for education CS Fred Matiangi to come up with a way to ensure that the ruling is implemented effectively without affecting the learning programme.
In 2013, Attorney General Githu Muigai had opposed a case filed in court by the Church to grant permission to SDA students the right not to attend classes on Saturday. The AG argued that ruling in favor of the church wishes would affect the learning system. The argument was based on the understanding that other religions like Muslims will also demand for their day of worship to be respected which would paralyze education.
About Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) beliefs
According to the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA), the Sabbath is a time of rest and prayer. They believe that after Creation, God rested on the seventh day which is the Sabbath. The day is required to be observed as a day of rest, worship and ministry.
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Do not miss our next update on CS Matiangi’s take on the court ruling about the right of worship for Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) students on Saturday!
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