Congregants seeking interdict against protesters

THREE people claiming to belong to the controversial Jesus Dominion International Church (JDI) headed by rape accused pastor Timothy Omotoso have launched an urgent application in the Port Elizabeth High Court to interdict protest groups from gathering outside the local branch in North End.

Respondents are cited as the ANC Women’s League, ANC Youth League and the EFF.

Last month, tempers flared when protesters from political parties and civil organisations gathered outside church demanding it be shut down.

At the time, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality said a programme would be implemented to inspect all church sites to ensure they operated in accordance with by-laws.

In court papers, the congregants claim the parties were violating their constitutional right to practice religion. They are asking the court to interdict political parties from protesting within 200m from the church.

An affidavit, deposed by Nthombo Mbaza, denies that JDI was a cult and said that rape and extra-marital sex was contrary to the doctrine and belief of the members of JDI.

Mbaza said the parties had decided to shut down a church which had not been charged, “without Omotoso being convicted of anything or the church being found guilty of any improper conduct”.

She said police had done nothing to prevent “intimidation”, and congregants were being “forcibly prevented” from attending church.

In responding papers, the ANCWL claimed the three individuals who launched the application were not entitled to do so. They claimed they were not JDI members, nor JDI management, they did not own the church property.

The ANCWL said the action dated to last month and questioned how the application was urgent when weeks had passed. “This application has been brought on the basis that members of the crowd were wearing ANC and EFF T-shirts, which on the applicants’ own version those are all separate legal entities and the crowd was not made up of members of the ANCWL.”

The ANCWL also said the applicants had failed to lay criminal charges of intimidation with the police.

According to the affidavit of ANCWL regional co-ordinator Nontombi Nama, it did not close the church. That was the doing of the SAPS and metro police.

The EFF has not submitted papers responding to the application.

Judge Thembekile Malusi postponed the case until Tuesday for congregants to submit replying papers.