Church members see red over minister’s removal
A GROUP of about 50 Methodist Church members stood outside the Assemblies of God (AOG) Convention Centre in Mthatha yesterday morning, demanding “thieves must go”.
The disgruntled members of the Ncambedlana circuit picketed outside the venue, where members of the Methodist Church were holding a farewell ceremony for a church leader.
The group had gathered as early as 9am outside the AOG Centre brandishing placards saying: “thieves must go”.
A few metres away, inside the hall, other members were already singing church hymns as the service was about to start.
Waving placards and shouting phantsi ngamasela” (down with thieves), the group walked into the premises and stood at the entrance of the hall trying to get the attention of the church’s leadership. Church member Mzwandile Majova said the bone of contention was a decision by the leadership structure – the connexional executive (CE) – to remove the superintendent minister, the Reverend Gcobani Vika, of the Ncambedlana Circuit.
The circuit oversees more than 30 branches of the Methodist Church in Mthatha and surrounding areas.
The group complained that the leadership tried to remove Vika without consulting them and without following the church’s constitution, which states that a superintendent should stay in his post for two years in a circuit, provided he has not transgressed any rules.
Members claimed Vika was removed because he had accepted a request from church members that a forensic investigation be conducted into the church’s finances.
“He only got here in January. “The reason why they want to remove him is because he was impartial and had accepted a decision from the circuit’s quarterly meeting which took a decision to request a forensic invest Majova said.
In a letter to the national leader of the Methodist Church Bishop Ziphozethu Siwa, the disgruntled group wrote:
“The presiding bishop and his executive committee ignored the formal complaints and concerns made on several occasions regarding the mismanagement of funds dissension and strife in the circuit during the era of the former superintendent until the appointment of the current superintendent who is now crucified for … good governance.”
Neither Siwa nor the bishop of the Clarkebury district under whom the Ncambedlana circuit falls, Bishop Victor Tshangela, could not be reached for comment at the time of writing. —