Why SDA Church wants Saturday poll in Nyanza postponed
Kenneth Maena, president of the SDA church in western Kenya speaks during a press conference at Pinecone Hotel in Kisumu on October 27, 2017. He has urged the IEBC to push the repeat elections set for Saturday in Luo Nyanza to a later date so as not to infringe on the freedom of worship for Adventists. PHOTO | TONNY OMONDI | NATION MEDIA GROUP
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Led by the President of SDA West Kenya Union Conference, Kenneth Maena, the clerics petitioned Wafula Chebukati, the Chairman of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission to reconsider this position.
He noted that their members from the region who wish to vote would be locked out yet they also have a right to participate in elections.
He insisted that conducting the elections in the region on Saturday will “grossly infringe on our freedom of worship as captured in the Constitution of Kenya.
The Seventh Day Adventist Church (SDA) on Friday accused the electoral agency of infringement on their freedom of worship by settling on a Saturday as the day for the repeat elections in Nyanza.
Led by the President of SDA West Kenya Union Conference, Kenneth Maena, the clerics petitioned IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati to reconsider this position.
“We must obey God rather than man. The Seventh Day Adventist Church in Kenya wishes to appeal to the IEBC to reconsider this date so as not to infringe on the rights of Adventists to worship,” Mr Maena said.
He noted that their members from the region who wish to vote would be locked out yet they also have a right to participate in elections.
Speaking at Pinecone Hotel in Kisumu where he led the clergy in castigating the decision to settle on October 28 for the fresh polls in Kisumu, Siaya, Homa Bay and Migori Counties, Mr Maena said the move would interfere with their conviction to observe the fourth commandment “as stipulated in Exodus 20:18-11.”
SABBATH
“It conflicts with the observance of the Sabbath as commanded by God; believed and practiced by the Seventh Day Adventist Church worldwide and in this case Kenya,” said the president.
He insisted that conducting the elections in the region on Saturday will “grossly infringe on our freedom of worship as captured in the Constitution of Kenya.
“Every person has the right to freedom of conscience, religion, thought, belief and opinion.”
Mr Maena said there were over 3 million SDA members who gather across the whole country every Sabbath for worship and prayers, majority found along the Lake region.
“Some of our members serve in the IEBC itself. We wish to inform the commission that the faithful would be denied an opportunity to render their services if the election is done on this date,” he added.
BAD PRECEDENT
He said should IEBC allow the elections to proceed on Saturday, it would set a bad precedent which should never be allowed.
“Mr Chairman, while we are sensitive to the needs of the country at this time, we also wish to state that loyalty to God comes first. We trust that this appeal will be adhered to so that our law abiding and faithful members can continue with worship and prayers for the nation,"
Mr Maena noted that interference with the peaceful and solemn worship of God was the last thing the country needed especially at this time when it seriously needs God’s intervention “in our national and political affairs.”
Mr Chebukati on Thursday said the commission had settled on October 28 as the day for the fresh elections in the four Nyanza counties after the process was interrupted.
