adminPatrick Chitumba Senior Reporter
THE High Court has granted an interim order blocking the leader of a faction of the Apostolic Faith Mission of Africa (AFM) church, Clement Nyathi, from masquerading as its leader, dealing him a blow to his plan to control one of the country’s largest denominations.
Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Lawrence Kamocha granted the interim relief sought by the incumbent church leader Reverend Tony Tshuma dated August 4.
The church and Rev Tshuma are cited as 1st and 2nd applicants while Nyathi and his lieutenants Joseph Matongo and James Morris are 1st, 2nd and 3rd respondents respectively.
“Pending the finalisation of the matter the applicants be and are hereby granted the following relief that: the 1st respondent be and is hereby interdicted from acting as or purporting to be the president and overseer for the 1st applicant pursuant to the appointment and actions by 2nd and 3rd respondents or any other party without compliance with the constitution of the church,” ruled Justice Kamocha.
“The respondents jointly and severally be and are hereby interdicted from interfering in any manner whatsoever whether directly or indirectly with the 1st applicant’s operations and also the 2nd applicant’s discharge of his duties in terms of the constitution in the office of the president for the 1st applicant.”
The church and Rev Tshuma had made the urgent chamber application after Matongo and Morris appointed Nyathi to be the president and overseer of the church.
“The 2nd applicant is the president and overseer of the 1st applicant until and unless it has been set aside by a court of law. The applicants have a clear right to the leadership elected and ratified by the applicant on February 8 and for that leadership alone to run the affairs of the church,” reads part of the urgent chamber application from the church and Rev Tshuma.
The application noted that Matongo and Morris have been holding meetings in various branches of the church including Mberengwa, Harare and Kwekwe saying they had appointed Nyathi as the president and overseer.
“Another confirmatory meeting has been set and is scheduled for August 8 to 12 at Gokwe. The respondent’s conduct is causing serious irreparable damage to the image of the church and bringing the church’s name into disrepute. It has also caused immense confusion within the church members and continues to do so.”
Walter Nyabadza of Majoko and Majoko Legal Practitioners representing the church and Rev Tshuma, said the congregation would not hesitate to institute criminal proceedings on anyone who violated the provisions of the High Court order granted by Justice Kamocha.
“If anyone violates this provisional order, we are going to take legal action because that will be in contempt of court,” he said.
Early this year, Kwekwe provincial magistrate Vimbai Mutukwa ordered the squabbling AFM Mbizo branch not to interfere with each other’s operations until the pending High Court case in Bulawayo was resolved.
Nyathi’s faction accuses Rev Tshuma of fraudulently taking over the reins of the church in 2008, abuse of church funds and allegedly grabbing a church-owned farm in Mangwe, Matabeleland South, charges he vehemently denies.
The AFM was founded in Zimbabwe by Rev Morgan Sengwayo in 1955. Following Sengwayo’s death in 1982, Rev Philemon Sibanda was appointed church overseer.
In 1985, squabbles rocked the church following allegations of adultery against Sibanda, which prompted him to break away from the Pelandaba church with disgruntled members and formed his own church, renaming it Apostolic Faith Mission of Africa. Sibanda died in 2008 and Tony Tshuma succeeded him and now Nyathi is seeking to control the church.
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