Former Employee Wins Court Case Against Central Rift Valley Conference for Unethical Dismissal
24 June 2025 |
According to multiple reports:
The Employment and Labour Relations Court in Kenya has ruled that the Seventh Day Adventist Church, Central Rift Valley Conference, must compensate former employee Jescah Gesare over KSh 800,000 [US$ 6,20o] for unfair dismissal.
The lawsuit was founded on the church’s suspicion that Gesare was having an affair with a colleague. The Standard states that Gesare had been a contract worker with the conference since 2014, gaining full employment on November 23, 2016, and was later promoted to conference internal auditor.
Numerous reports had shown her work to be exemplary, maintaining a friendly yet professional relationship with her colleagues. However, in a show cause letter dated May 28, 2023, the church accused Gesare of having a romantic relationship with a colleague. Troubled by the accusation, the auditor challenged the accusation, maintaining her innocence.
She shared that by June 3, she was suspended from her office for three months, pending further investigation by the conference into the claims. On July 2, 2023, the conference invited her to an investigations commission. Two months later, the conference’s executive committee found Gesare guilty of the accusations due to their belief that she didn’t sufficiently refute the claims, and cited the colleague’s visits to her home. On September 16, 2023, Gesare once again pleaded her innocence, stating the church’s internal dispute resolution mechanisms failed to resolve the issue or adequately advocate on her behalf.
The news outlet previously quoted stated:
Gesare said that she remained committed to her job and hoped to stay with the church until retirement. She accused the church of attempting to coerce her resignation by using her benefits as leverage, telling the court, “They dangled my benefits to force me to resign.”
When her lawyers wrote to the church, the conference denied using any coercion or bias, claiming they were merely abiding by the East Central Africa Division regulations on solving disputes.
Gesare’s legal counsel accused the institution of malicious intent, fabricating evidence, a lack of performance-based reasoning, insufficient explanation as to what prompted their suspicion, and the complete omission of accountability towards the male colleague in the alleged infidelity.
After a lengthy court battle, Justice Ann Mwaure found that the Central Rift Valley Conference “failed to satisfy the twin tests of justification and fairness” and “the church failed to establish a valid reason for Gesare’s termination and did not adhere to fair procedures during the disciplinary process.”
