When church fights church

A LEGAL war has erupted between the Gospel of God Church and the Jehovah’s Witness Church, with the former dragging the latter to court over a piece of land.

This follows the defiance of summons issued to the Jehovah’s Witness Church in April 2012 by the Chitungwiza Municipality, ordering them to evacuate from the land. According to court documents, Jehovah’s Witness invaded the land, erected a cabin and went on to dig a foundation at the applicant’s premises.

Many attempts to have the defendant vacate the land were to no avail.

“Please be advised that stand number 10415 Unit ‘H’ is a primary school stand measuring less or more than 3 hectares was allocated to Gospel of God Church in December 2004… Any residential stand allocations by Council or by the Church or its leadership shall remain null and void,” reads part of the summons.

The papers state that despite being aware that the land had been allocated to the Gospel of God Church by Chitungwiza Municipality, Jehovah’s Witness Church went on to allocate residential stands to its members.

It is the Gospel of God Church’s case that, “Subdivisions which were done on the school site to create residential stands were illegal and of a criminal nature according to the provisions of Section 26 ( 3) of the Regional, Town and Country Planning Act (Chapter 29: 12).”

Therefore Gospel of God Church approached the courts seeking eviction of the defendant from the stand, together with all those who are claiming occupation of the land through the defendant.

However, Gospel of God Church has not yet met the stipulated nine months within which it is can start developing the land.

“That the lessee shall commence the erection of buildings in terms of the last preceding clause not later than nine ( 9) months after the date of commencement of the lease and shall proceed without undue delay to the completion of the same before the expiration of the lease,” reads part of the Memorandum of Agreement between Chitungwiza Municipality and The Gospel of God Church. The judgment is yet to be pronounced.