Durban - A Durban minister’s flock has turned against him, accusing him of cheating on his wife and and abusing church funds.
The Rev Mshiyeni Zimu, of the African Gospel Church, approached the court for an interdict as he said the Umlazi church’s circuit committee was scheming get rid of him.
Zimu recently secured an interim order in the Durban High Court to interdict 14 committee members from assaulting, threatening and harassing him. They were also interdicted from blocking access to the church, disturbing the church’s services and from accessing the church’s bank accounts.
But this week, the committee filed court papers to oppose the court order’s being made final and denied it had done anything wrong.
Zimu, who said he had held his post since 2000, said the committee was responsible for the day-to-day decision-making of the church and was made up of members of the congregation.
He said the trouble started in October, when his son Sibusiso accused him of having an affair with his domestic worker and claimed he slaughtered a goat, against the church’s beliefs.
Zimu said his son had said he had been angry with him and had been prompted by the committee to make the allegations.
He said the allegations were “fabrications” to spoil his “good name” among the congregation.
Zimu added that his son had retracted the allegations but the committee had disregarded this and insisted he be removed.
He said the committee had also alleged that he had been abusing church funds. The committee reported the matter to the church’s executive and a hearing was held on November 3.
Zimu said the executive ruled that the allegations against him were baseless, but the committee locked the gates of the church on November 22, a Sunday.
Zimu said when the congregation arrived, the committee members hurled abuse at him and incited the crowd.
In an affidavit, Bhekithemba Shezi, the committee’s treasurer, denied they had carried out any of the acts.
He said the minister and head of the church had to be blameless: “A man whose life is beyond reproach, is faithful to his wife, lives wisely and is of a good reputation. He must be gentle, not quarrelsome and not love money.”
Shezi said apart from the allegations, Zimu had previously been embroiled in legal disputes, including being held in contempt of court, and the congregation had been unsettled by that.
“His (Zimu’s) behaviour is contrary to our beliefs and values and does not portray a good picture to the congregation or to the community we serve.”
He also denied that Sibusiso had not been prompted by the committee to make allegations against his father and he had not retracted the statements.
He said the committee believed that Zimu could not be trusted with finances, as he had demanded a higher salary and claimed exorbitant amounts in travelling allowances.
Shezi said the committee had followed the proper internal processes to deal with the issue and had not officially been informed about the executive’s ruling.
Shezi raised technical challenges to the action that Zimu had brought, including that he had not obtained permission from the church’s executive committee to bring the court case.
The matter was adjourned indefinitely with the interim order to remain in place.
The Mercury