Student Sabbath Observance Case Goes to Kenya’s Court of Appeal

October 16, 2016:    The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Kenya is appealing a decision by the country’s High Court that denied Sabbath-keeping students the right to not attend classes on Friday evenings or Saturday.

High Court Judge Isaac Lenaola ruled against the Adventist Church in the case it brought against the Education Ministry in 2013. The judge claimed that allowing Sabbath observance would cause chaos in Kenyan schools.

Justice Lenaola said that if every denomination were given the liberty not to attend school on the day of their choice, learning would grind to a halt.

On October 24, Kenya’s Court of Appeal will hear a counterargument put forth by the Adventist Church. The denomination claims that Justice Lenaola overlooked the fact that students that worship on Sundays are able to practice their faith in the current educational system, whereas Seventh-day Adventists are forced to go against their convictions to attend class on Saturday.

The Adventist church said the right to worship should not be curtailed by other laws in the country.