Deadlock in voting for bishop
AFTER eight gruelling hours of casting secret ballots, and five failed attempts, there was a deadlock in the process to elect the next Anglican bishop of the Diocese of Mthatha last week.
Now the onus is on the bishops of the church across the region to choose a new bishop.
The stalemate was announced on the church’s official website on Wednesday by the church’s provincial executive officer, the Venerable Horace Arenz. The church’s national head, Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, later confirmed this to the Daily Dispatch. “The election will be done by a synod of bishops from Angola, Namibia, Lesotho, Swaziland, Mozambique, St Helena and South Africa when they meet next year,” said Makgoba, who chaired the elective assembly on Wednesday.
The vacancy was created by the retirement of Bishop Sitembele Mzamane, who had served the dioceses for close on 20 years.
Three respected men of the cloth – the Reverend Canon Bonginkosi Justice Mditshane, who is the rector of St Alphage in Gxulu and principal of Bransby Key Theological College; the Reverend Jemuel Tembinkosi Ngombane, who is the rector of St Andrew’s parish in Ngangelizwe Township; and the Very Reverend Mcebesi Pinyana, who is the dean of the Diocese of Mthatha and vicar-general – were competing for the post.
According the church’s canons a winner should have at least a twothirds majority of votes, but after the five rounds of balloting there was no outright winner. Mditshane was knocked out in the third voting round, leaving Pinyana and Ngombane in the contest.
The elections were marred by controversy before voting began after it was claimed Pinyana had falsified his academic qualifications. The Dispatch reported that the University of Pretoria said he had completed his honours and registered for a masters, but had not completed the masters, meaning he was not yet eligible to even register for a PhD. Pinyana insists he holds a masters and a PhD.
Despite the controversy, Pinyana had the most support from the 111 clergy delegates, while Ngombane – who is said to have attained his masters degree from an unaccredited institution – had support from the 99 laity delegates, said insiders. —