AFTER weeks of trading insults over church property, New Apostolic Church members have taken their wrangles to the Lusaka High Court.
Some faithfuls broke away from the New Apostolic Church to form the True Apostolic Church after the church leadership okayed ordination of women as clerics as well as gay marriages.
Since thier breakaway, the True Apostolic members have engaged in squabbles with their “sinful” former brothers and sisters in faith over the church buildings.
Now, the New Apostolic Church wants the Lusaka High Court to arbitrate its discords with the True Apostolic church over the church buildings by suing overseer Togne Sitali.
In its statement of claim New Apostolic stated that it is the legitimate owner of various pieces of land in Zambia, property and congregational buildings dotted across the country.
It stated that True Apostolic Church is a break- away religious entity from New Apostolic and its membership are former members of the church.
New Apostolic explained that in its over 100 years of existence, it has built numerous churches and structures across the country on State and traditional land using funds contributed by members.
It contended that Following Sitali’s resignation and upon registering the new church with the Registrar of Societies, he and his members have been interfering and disrupting the smooth operations of the church, taking over church building, shoving around church members and demeaning the leadership.
“The disruption, interference and disturbance of worship activities did not only end with trespassing on the church premises or damaging the church buildings, Sitali and his agents went as far as incorporated disruption and various infringements,” New Apostolic said.
“The defendant has infringed on the legally protected and copyrighted works of the plaintiff such as the emblem without obtaining consent.”
New Apostolic stated that it wrote to the Registrar of Societies informing it about the confusion it had caused when it registered the splinter group.
It said the Registrar of Societies wrote to Sitali on December 5, 2022 warning him against interfering with the activities of New Apostolic and infringing on legally protected material or casuing damage to property failure to which he will be punished.
New apostolic added that Sitali has been mudslinging the church by asserting that it supports homosexuality which led to some members ditching the church for True Apostolic.
The Plaintiff is seeking an order that it is the owner of the land and church buildings dotted across the country.
It wants damages for libel and retraction of the defamatory words.
The church is seeking among other reliefs damages for copyright infringement and an account of the profits Sitali made from the sales of products and other material bearing the Church’s emblem.
By Mwaka Ndawa
Kalemba March 27, 2023.
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