Pumwani church members sue bishop for locking them out

Members of the Good News Church of Africa's Pumwani branch have sued their bishop, accusing him of blocking the entire congregation from worshipping and using the facility.

They say Rev Raphael Kituva has since September 13 been camping at the church with close to 50 heavily armed policemen to ensure nobody has access to the premises and the parking lot.

The church, with almost 500 members, has leadership wrangles in its top organ known as the central church council (CCC).

The church has various leadership levels including the apex central church council, the regional council, the district council and the local church council. 

According to court papers filed by the local church council (LCC) through Joseph Kaunda, the Pumwani church branch says it wants nothing to do with the wrangles.

“The petitioner has called upon the respondents to leave out her innocent membership from the never-ending CCC wars, which have completely defamed and destroyed the image of more than 200,000 members of the entire Good News Church of Africa scattered throughout the Eastern African region,” Kaunda says.

Church members have been arrested and asked to record statements at Kamukunji police station over unfounded claims, the court was told.

“…the respondents have engaged in arresting and prosecuting church members, calling specific members to Kamukunji police for unfounded questioning and handcuffing them for some hours, perusing and detaining their mobile phones,” the court was told.

Kaunda explains that Rev Kituva is doing all this claiming to implement a court order that was given on August 24, 2020.

The order, local church members say, has since lapsed, and they don’t understand why they are in the middle of it, yet they are not party to any case.

Members say no court order has ever been issued to stop assembling and conducting its church functions.

They further say that Rev Kituva, who is the bishop of the entire Good News Church of Africa, does not have the mandate to close their church or any other.

The CCC, they say, does not have the mandate to unilaterally close any branch of the Good News Church of Africa without consulting the regional church council and the local church council.

Members of the church now want the court to stop interference with their right to worship and use the church.

The trouble at the church began after its elections some five years ago.

Immediately after the elections, the central church council fragmented into three factions.

Edited by A.N