Drama in Court After Kenyan Professor Refuses to Swear in God’s Name

A university lecturer caused drama in a Nairobi court on Friday after he refused to invoke God’s name while taking an oath.

Karega Munene, a professor of history and a confessed atheist, was required to swear in God’s name before testifying before the court but the university don, who is the claimant in a dispute with United States International University (USIU) Africa, insisted he would not do it.

The attorney representing the university insisted that Prof. Munene must invoke God’s name, arguing that the preamble to the Constitution and the National Anthem, by mentioning God, acknowledges the supremacy of the Almighty. He also argued that courts had forms of oaths and all citizens must abide by the set standards.

But Prof. Munene’s advocate objected, saying his client cannot be forced to mention God’s name as he is an atheist.

Employment and Labor Relations Court judge James Rika ruled in favor of Prof. Munene, saying he cannot compeled to swear in God’s name. The judge also urged Kenyans to rethink the usefulness of oaths and affirmations in judicial proceedings and public service with a view to discarding them.

“The Constitution and the Oaths and Statutory Declarations Act do not compel anyone to swear by God,” said the judge as quoted by Nation. “Does the invocation of the name of God in oaths put the fear of God in witnesses and compel them to tell the truth?” posed the judge.

The judge further said that although reference to God in the Preamble and in the National Anthem appears on the face of it, Article 8 affirmed that there is no state religion and Kenya is, therefore, a secular state.

“Our legal system is secular, and the name of God is not a legal concept. Secular means not connected with religious or spiritual matters,” he said.

The judge noted that most of the practices and laws that define the legal profession and judicial proceedings were archaic and based on misty Judeo-Christian and Roman traditions and should be discarded.

“Swearing a witness by God, by body organs, or by slaughtering a male goat does not assist the course of truth and the administration of justice,” he added.

He explained that presidents and other senior state officers are sworn in the name of God to uphold and protect the Constitution but “spend their entire tenure of office, mutilating and ravaging the Constitution”.

“The invocation of the name of God does not instill fear as intended for the state officers or witnesses in judicial proceedings to speak and act truthfully,” he said.