Court calls for peaceful resolution of church conflict
SITEKI – Two senior members of the Emmanuel Methodist Church in Siteki, have been interdicted from locking gates leading to the church and residence of Reverend Khulani Felix Mngometulu.
6iteki 3rincipal 0agistrate 'umsani 0agagula granted the order that also in terdicted and restrained 1hlanhla &rom well 6hongwe and 1dumiso 0ondlane from colluding, inciting and mobilising church members for whatever purposes.
The principal magistrate ordered the applicant and the respondents to amicably resolve their differences in a meeting to be convened by the church elders.
He further ordered that the concerned parties should report back to the court about the meeting.
$letter dated$pril 0, 0 , addressed to the superintendent minister of the &entral Eswatini &ircuit of the 6t. 3aul¶s 0ethodist &hurch in 0an]ini, titled µ&omplaint against 5everend .. 0n gometulu, states that the Emmanuel 6ociety leaders met the members of the society as well as the sectional members and the youth where a complaint was lodged against the reverend for allegedly bullying and misleading meetings and victimising 6hongwe, using &lause . of the 0ethodist %ook of &ode.
Powers
The letter further stated that the rever end had persistently abused powers and manipulated members of the church.
It stated that on $pril , 0 , in a leaders¶meeting, without even circulating the agenda of the meeting, he told senior members that he had authority to make decisions without consulting the leader ship of the church.
“In the same meeting, he started to shout at 6hongwe and threatened to chuck him out of the meeting. 6hongwe reTuested 5everend 0ngometulu to be calm and respond to the Tuestions being asked by the members. 2n $pril 0, 0 , the reverend locked out members of the Thursday 0anyano from entering the church premises without any e[planation, depriving them of their right to worship and association as per the mandate of the women¶s 0anyano card,´ it was alleged in the letter.
The letter reTuested the prompt inter vention of the superintendent in address ing the concerns raised by the church members. The letter was further furnished to the principal magistrate. The matter returns to court on 0arch .