Adventist in Kenya Sues the Defense Force for Violation of Sabbath Rights
by AT News Team
A former army officer in Kenya has sued the government for violations of his religious and human rights. Polycarp M. Nyakora served the nation's military from 2002 until December 2012 when he was discharged, reported The Star. "He says that he was discharged after he insisted on observing the true Sabbath day."
Nyakora is an Adventist and was in detention for 42 days because he declined to work on Saturdays. The Kenya Defense Force had not respond to the law suit as of this morning. Nyakora told the court that for the ten years he served in the military, he always sought permission in advance to go to church whenever he had been assigned duty on Saturday. He said that he always attended church on condition that if a distress call was made, he would be able to respond.
Nyakora stated that the confrontation began on May 31 last year when he sought routine permission to be absent from duty on June 2, his usual day of worship. His immediate superior, a sergeant, declined to grant him permission. Shocked by the decision, Nyakora reported the incident to a warrant officer who in turn promised to follow up the issue with the sergeant. When attempts by the warrant officer to plead Nyakora’s case failed, the serviceman sought a meeting with a senior air traffic control officer who simply referred him back to the sergeant who created the incident.
The veteran told the court that he then asked if one of his colleagues could stand in for him so that he could go to church but this too was refused by the sergeant. He said he wondered why the sergeant refused to allow a colleague to stand in for him when he had on several occasions been called upon to stand in for others who were supposed to be on duty but who for various reasons needed to take time off.
After all the attempts to get permission failed, Nyakora admits that he still proceeded to church and reported to work in the evening. He was then informed that he had been discharged. He was also punished with a loss of six days salary. Nyakora also stated he was forced to do manual labor as punishment and ordered to do so on the Sabbath, but defied the orders and attended church on two more Sabbaths which resulted in his being locked up for 42 days. He believes the confinement and subsequent discharge from service were a violation of his rights and is demanding compensation. Nyakora also wants a declaration that the 42-day confinement with a salary cut were illegal.
Nyakora's lawsuit also asks for a court order that he be entitled to pension because he was willing to serve until his retirement and was discharged unlawfully. The Kenya Defense Force is expected respond to the allegations before the court dates are set.
The Seventh-day Adventist denomination in Kenya has nearly 700,000 members in 8,300 congregations. It is estimated that the number of Kenyans who identify with the Adventist faith may be as high as two million. Sociologist Ron Lawson reported in 1994 that more than a million individuals had told the official census they were Adventist adherents.
Adventist have a wide variation of Sabbath keeping practicing. From my experience, Sabbath keepers work as: firefighters, power plant operators, military aircraft maintenance, medical services, police and county sheriff, computer systems, dairy farming, harvesting crops before a storm, taking exams, owning a motel and selling farm equipment at county fairs. Very few are disbarred over Sabbath work. When jobs are scarce, who will pay the rent when employment includes Sabbath work?
The 4th commandments speaks of male and female slaves, livestock and foreigners on personal property. The language indicates private business. Would we not expect police, network supporters, utilities, or firefighters to work for us on Sabbath? If medical workers can keep the Sabbath Holy why cannot police who keep the peace?
It is time for the church to re-define Sabbath keeping so as not to create unnecessary hardship, by setting up a 4,000-year-old standard, for a modern age.
Frank,
You make an excellent point about the challenge we have reconciling the "Sabbath rest" with a variety of occupations associated with the delivery of services we expect on the Sabbath. However, the issue with a military officer being allowed to observe the Sabbath is quite a different issue due to specific regulations, operational requirements and the opinions and discretion of their superiors. The traditional Adventist position relating to those in the military has been to expect commanders to respect Sabbath observance requests. But those cases often have involved draftees. Such privileges are not typically offered to those who enlist and many Adventists have enlisted in the all-volunteer US military expecting to enjoy Sabbath off duty only to discover that in signing their enlistment contract they surrendered all claims to such privilege. Lacking specific information about the laws and regulations under which Nyakora was serving, I wonder what led him to expect that his ability to continue observing the Sabbath would go on without challenge or limitation. While service to one's country in the military is generally an honorable thing, there are times when it is difficult for Sabbath-keepers and they may find it is better for them to leave at the end of their enlistment and find other work.
I suppose this "Army officer" would ask for break in fighting once it was sundown on a Friday night. What did he enlist to do – just get a paycheck? Is it okay for him to stay in a bunker all day on Saturdays or leave the battlefield for church while his fellow soilders fight for his right to observe the Sabbath?
Clearly this is a terrible violation of his "religious and human rights" and a serves as a fantastic witness for the Seventh-day Adventist denomination. No doubt, sympathies for his immense courage will abound!
The Jews once adopted that strategy during once very famous incident during the Maccabee Revolt, when Jewish fighters were cornered in a cave and would not defend themselves because it was Sabbath, and were all massacred to the man. No suprisingly, the Jews soon changed their theology to recognise military service as an essential service. What do people think the state of Israel, full of Jews (some of which are much harder Sabbath-keeprs than Adventists) does. Remember they were even attacked once on the Holiest Sabbath in the Jewish calander, the Day of Atonement, during the Yom Kippur War.
I am a former Army officer. I never had a problem serving on the Sabbath. The original 'essential service' where work was allowed on the Sabbath is military service. This principle was long established long before Jesus was a babe, in the Maccabees Revolt. How do people think Israel, a land full of Jews, defends itself?
As to whether a service is essential or not, the question simply is, 'Would you call on those services if it were an emergency'? If the answer is yes, and you would call the policeman, or paramedic or whoever on a Sabbath, then the work is essential. Moreover, it is hypocritical to say 'Let the Gentiles work on the Sabbath', because that would still break the commandment, which prohibits allowing servants or even animals to work for you on the Sabbath!
When I was in the Theology program at what is now Southern Adventist University in the late '70s, I got pushback from some of my teachers and other zealous belivers about my service on the local volunteer fire department. Sometimes I was asked that hypocritical question you mentioned about letting non-believers respond to calls on the Sabbath while I rested. To me it made no difference. It was an "ox in the ditch" moment where someone needed help. I was trained to help and lived closer to the fire station than many other volunteers. I remember early one frigid Sabbath morning when we responded to a house fire that did moderate structural damage but filled the house with smoke. As we began picking up our hoses I discovered that I knew the family from attending the same church. They made it to church. During our praise-sharing time in Sabbath School they shared about the fire and made particular mention of their appreciation for two others and me having been there as part of the fire department response. One of those zealous believers had asked me that earlier question about service on Sabbath was in our class. I don't remember ever hearing that question from them again.
It is a matter, between a person and his God, as to what constitutes "necessary" work on Sabbath. What I don't understand about this situation is how a sergeant can direct an officer; from my service in the US military establishment as a draftee a sergeant does not typically direct an officer. However, I have no idea as to the protocol in the Kenya military system.
I would suggest that there are employment situations, as an SDA, one would avoid because of their particular requirements. It is a highly personal matter in any case.
OTOH just because a person is being assisted does not always justify its performance on Sabbath. A question one must ask himself is whether the particular activity could be done on another day. For example, there is no reason to rake leaves for the widow on Sabbath. Desecration of Sbbath is a very serious matter if you carefully read the Fourth Commandment.
Yes I do agree. Helping pick up rubbish is a good deed, but probably not an 'essential service' because it can be done on Sunday. Not every good deed is an essential service. Being a volunteer fire fighter (to use William's example) is quite different, because you can't wait until Sunday if a house is burning down on a Saturday.
The other thing I find interesting is our Pathfinder clubs typically and deliberately engage in training activities that one might consider 'paramilitary' activities used by policemen, firemen, paramedics and soldiers. A Pathfinder leader will teach a young Adventist how to light a fire without matches on a Sabbath afternoon, but someone then says a volunteer firefighter can't learn how to put out a fire on the same day. Go figure.
I also agree with you that Sabbath observance is very much a personal thing. For example, I try not to work a suit to Church. Some might see that as somehow bad Sabbath-keeping. But as a lawyer, I wear a suit every day to work, so I don't want to wear what to me feels like work clothes. I imagine the situation might be the complete opposite for say a bricklayer. Similarly, someone who uses computers everyday may try to not use one on Sabbath, not even with a Bible app – others might feel the opposite.
I've noted on occasion that the British judicial traditions and rules require barristers to wear wigs in court. Is this also the tradition in Australia? If you wore one of them to church I'd have to agree that you were wearing your work attire to church. 😉
Yes wigs are still used but are being phased out. In my State of Western Australia they recently abolished the wigs, except in criminal matters (where I think the argument goes the wig is useful as a disguise). If someone is a lawyer and wears a wig in Court, but is balding, can they wig a toupee to Church I wonder? 🙂
The funny thing about legal traditions, is that in many respects, some of the colonial outposts of the British Empire are more traditional than Britain itself. For example, from my experience of working as a lawyer in London, Britain seems to be far less traditional. Some of the most traditional jurisdictions are African nationals or small isalnds in the South Pacific, where they still wear full wigs in Parliament.