Times Of Swaziland: TENSION  BREWING AGAIN AT ANGLICAN CHURCH

TENSION  BREWING AGAIN AT ANGLICAN CHURCH
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Kwanele Dlamini on 19/11/2024 09:09:00


MBABANE – The Anglican Diocese of Eswatini wants the High Court to interdict
the 2021 elected wardens, council members and others from using the bank
accounts where tithes, pledges and offerings are kept.
The church has applied that these officers be ordered to vacate office with
immediate effect. The church has approached the High Court with urgency for an
order declaring their term of office to have lapsed and they should leave office
immediately. The church also wants them to be declared to be not entitled to
stand for reelection or appointment into the Parish Council of the Cathedral
Church of All Saints in the vestry to be conducted after this application. The
respondents are Deris Hlophe, Lolo Mkhabela, Zodwa Shabalala, Njabulo Dlamini,
Manqoba Shongwe, Thando Mnisi, Percy Dlamini, Nolwazi Dlamini, Siniketiwe Mdaka
and Happiness Khumalo.
Priests
Others are Lucky Magagula, Junior Mavuso, Sinokuhle Dlamini, Harry van der Burg,
Maria Mbelu, Thokozani Nkambule, the Dean of the All Saints Cathedral, assistant
priests of the church and Standard Bank, as well as the Swaziland Building
Society. The applicant further prayed that Hlophe and Magagula be immediately
interdicted from transacting, withdrawing, making electronic transfers or any
other form of payments using any bank accounts of the Cathedral Church of All
Saints where tithes, offering and pledges are deposited, with immediate effect,
pending finalisation of this matter.  The bank account is held a Standard Bank
Eswatini and Swaziland Building Society, Mbabane branch. They prayed for both
banks to be ordered to freeze any operation of the bank accounts and ensure that
Hlophe and Shabalala do not access even the online platforms of the bank.
The church is also seeking an order that both banks furnish the church with bank
statements and any information relevant to the bank accounts in their
possession, coupled with receipts of transfers of funds initiated after this
application. Hlophe and Magagula, prayed the church, should be ordered to
surrender the 2021, 2022 and 2023 financial reports to the finance committee of
the church through the diocesan secretary within five days of the order.
Hlophe and Mkhabela, according to the church, should be ordered to immediately
prepare the vestry notice for their signature and that of the Archdeacon Charles
Kunene, in order to be placed on the notice board by the door of the Cathedral
Church of All Saints, advertising the election of the church council and sides
person. The Registrar of the Diocese of Eswatini, Mbuso Simelane, said in terms
of Canon 27 of the applicant’s canons, there shall be a vestry, which is held
at least once a year. One of the functions of the vestry is to conduct the
elections of wardens and parish councillors of the church.
Positions
Simelane submitted that the Cathedral Church of All Saints also conducted a
vestry on June 6, 2021, where the respondents were all elected in the different
positions that they currently occupy and are allegedly refusing to vacate. The
registrar said their term of office came to an end in March 2024, alternatively
in June 2024, if one has regard when they were elected, which was caused mainly
by the unavailability of the 2020 financial report in 2021, which delayed the
elections outside the mandated time frame as prescribed by the Synod-made
Regulations.
“What is worthy of note is that a vestry is supposed to be conducted annually
and in the vestry, there shall be elections. The respondents are now refusing to
conduct this vestry purely because they are well aware that there has to be
elections and one can presume that they fear that they may not be reelected back
into office. In fact, they are not even eligible to hold office anymore,” said
Simelane. The veracity of these allegations is still to be tested in court. The
respondents are yet to file their answering papers.  The matter is pending in
court.