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Gibson Mhaka
A Bishop with Twelve Apostolic Church of Christ in Bulawayoa��s Lobengula West suburb sued 38 members of his church for disrupting church services by loudly booing him with obscenities whenever he conducts services at the church.
Bishop Manners Ngwenya feels the members have no manners. He claimed the rowdy members make noise while calling him a satanist who sold the church to the Apostolic Christian Council of Zimbabwe (ACCZ) headed by Johannes Ndanga.
ACCZ is an indigenous church organisation and its main thrust is to defend and uphold the interests of indigenous churches that have for a long time been under-represented.
Apparently there has been an ongoing crisis in the church since May 2015 when Bishops Ngwenya and Aleck Dube amended the churcha��s constitution and joined the ACCZ without consulting the church members.
So fierce is the fight at the church that the alleged rowdy members sometimes end up engaging in running battles with some members who support bishops Ngwenya and Dube.
In their joint application at the Bulawayo Civil Court where they were seeking an order to stop the 38 members from coming to the church, Bishop Ngwenya and Dube claimed sometimes the rioters would be demonstrating outside the church carrying placards denouncing them.
a�?I am the ordained Bishop of Twelve Apostolic Church of Christ since 1996 up to date and the respondents (38 members) disrupt services whenever I am conducting them at the church.
a�?They shout at me using vulgar language. They also boo me while I am in the church and by so doing they would be injuring my reputation as a bishop,a�? said Bishop Ngwenya.
He added: a�?The respondents insult me saying I am a satanist who sold the church to ACCZ. I am the Bishop of the church together with Aleck Dube and whenever we try to preach they would be singing before they end up engaging in fist-fights with those who support us as bishopsa�?.
Bishop Ngwenya pleaded with the court to grant an order saying they needed peace in order to conduct the work of the Lord.
In response, the 38 members through their legal representative denied the accusations saying the two bishopsa�� application was defective in nature.
a�?From the 38 members who have been cited in the papers, it is not correct that they work in common purpose to try and destroy the church. They worship at different branches and some reside in South Africa. So the question is how do they work in collective purpose since they are at different branches?a�? asked their legal representative.
Apparently, having been satisfied that there was no prima facie case against the 38 members, presiding magistrate Sheunesu Matova dismissed the two bishopsa�� application. .
Online Reporter