Kunonga appeal: Court to rule on preliminary points

 

from the Anglican properties.
Judge president George Chiweshe reserved the ruling after hearing arguments from both parties on the preliminary points. The court ruling on Monday will determine whether or not the main application will be heard.

Justice Chiweshe may either dismiss the application on the preliminary points or decide to hear the merits of the case. ACPZ lawyer Mr Jonathan Samukange of Venturas and Samukange law firm raised a preliminary point seeking to deny Bishop Chad Gandiya’s Church of the Province of Central Africa the right of audience in the High Court citing dirty hands.

Mr Samukange, on behalf of ACPZ, argued that CPCA disregarded the notice of set down for the urgent chamber application and evicted his clients.

To that end, Mr Samukange argues that CPCA was approaching the court with dirty hands and that they needed to cleanse themselves before approaching the court. Advocate Thabani Mpofu, who acted for CPCA, also raised a number of preliminary issues including an accusation that Archbishop Kunonga’s church was in contempt of court by resisting eviction despite a notice of eviction.

CPCA argues that Archbishop Kunonga’s ACPZ should not be entertained in the courts of law until it purges its contempt. CPCA argues that ACPZ defied several notices of eviction that were issued in pursuance of a Supreme Court judgment.

The church argues that the application lacks urgency and that the urgency alleged by ACPZ was “self-created”. It is CPCA’s contention that the High Court should refuse to hear the matter on that basis.

The High Court, according to CPCA’s lawyers, does not have jurisdiction to hear the matter considering that the Supreme Court had already ruled on the issue of property ownership. Staying execution, the lawyers argue, was tantamount to frustrating an order of the Supreme Court.

ACPZ has failed to establish a clear right that is under threat, which is a basic test to obtain a provisional order, CPCA argues.

The Supreme Court recently ruled that Bishop Gandiya’s CPCA was the legitimate owner of the church properties in the Anglican’s Diocese of Harare and that Archbishop Kunonga and his colleagues who seceded from the church to form their own had no right to the property.

Notices of eviction were served on Archbishop Kunonga and his church members, but they remained on the properties until the Deputy Sheriff evicted them.