The plaintiff (Rephio Chirumbwa) and the defendant are embroiled in a leadership dispute in an apostolic church known as Bethlehem Apostolic Faith Church (the Church). The trial of the matter commenced in March 2022. The matter suffered from setbacks, primarily, the unavailability of witnesses which derailed its progress and ultimately its conclusion. At the conclusion of the trial, the defendant made an application for absolution from the instance at the close of the plaintiff’s case. I dismissed the application for absolution from the instance in a judgment handed down under HH 267/23. More
The first plaintiff is a common law universitas by status. As the appellation implies, it is an apostolic church with its own constitution which provides for the regulation of its affairs as well as the election of its leadership that oversees its affairs. The church is the spiritual home and sanctuary for those in need of salvation through fellowship. In terms of its constitution, one of the purposes of the first plaintiff is described as “the channel through which the holy spirit operates to extend the Kingdom of God and to Edify the Saints in the world of God…” Regrettably... More
This is an urgent application which was argued before me on 11 April 2018. After hearing Counsels for the applicants and respondents I handed down an ex tempore judgment and issued an order in the following terms:
“IT IS ORDERED THAT:
1. The respondents are ordered to restore the status quo ante which was obtaining prior to the 29th of March 2018 and restore the applicants into the church temple and premises at Stand No. 3874 Caledonia, Harare forthwith.
2. The respondents are ordered to release and return the temple keys to the applicants within 24 hours of the date... More
This is a divorce matter between the parties who were initially married to each other under customary law in 1994. The defendant was at the material time married to his first wife under general law. The defendant’s first wife subsequently died in 2000 and the parties then solemnised their marriage under the Marriage Act [Chapter 5:11] on 23 October 2006. More
