A church leader just won a massive court victory after judges banned him from speaking for years. Reverend Clement Nyathi beat the legal gag order that stopped him from fighting for control of valuable church property. The Apostolic Faith Mission of Africa has been torn apart for ten years as different groups battle over who runs the show. Justice Never Katiyo threw out the silence order and said other judges made a terrible mistake. Nyathi can start fresh court cases against his rivals without asking permission first.
The church war started after Reverend Philemon Sibanda died back in 2008 and left behind millions of dollars worth of buildings and land. Reverend Rosewell Zulu leads the group that grabbed control of all the church money and property. The original church began in 1955 and became one of the biggest religious organizations in Zimbabwe before everything fell apart. Different pastors have been fighting in court since 2014 over who deserves to be the real leader. Justice Katiyo discovered that previous judges mixed up Nyathi with other people who were actually banned from court.
The silence order was supposed to stop troublemakers from filing endless lawsuits but Nyathi never caused those problems. Justice Katiyo called the previous ruling a clear example of unfair treatment that violated basic legal rights. Nyathi argued for years that the ban prevented him from defending himself against people who stole church property. His lawyers proved he was just a witness in the original case and never broke any court rules. The victory opens the door for Nyathi to reclaim church buildings and challenge the current leadership.
The church war started after Reverend Philemon Sibanda died back in 2008 and left behind millions of dollars worth of buildings and land. Reverend Rosewell Zulu leads the group that grabbed control of all the church money and property. The original church began in 1955 and became one of the biggest religious organizations in Zimbabwe before everything fell apart. Different pastors have been fighting in court since 2014 over who deserves to be the real leader. Justice Katiyo discovered that previous judges mixed up Nyathi with other people who were actually banned from court.
The silence order was supposed to stop troublemakers from filing endless lawsuits but Nyathi never caused those problems. Justice Katiyo called the previous ruling a clear example of unfair treatment that violated basic legal rights. Nyathi argued for years that the ban prevented him from defending himself against people who stole church property. His lawyers proved he was just a witness in the original case and never broke any court rules. The victory opens the door for Nyathi to reclaim church buildings and challenge the current leadership.
