Denver Isaacs
30 October 2008
A PASTOR was left with a bloodied face after an outraged colleague allegedly punched him at a church service.
The incident was sparked by remarks made at a memorial service of a fellow ELCRN church leader on Friday night.
Pastor Willem Pieters this week laid an assault charge against fellow pastor Paul /Goagoseb, who allegedly punched him in the face after calling him out during the service.
According to various sources who witnessed the incident, /Goagoseb had been delivering a message of condolence when Pieters interrupted to disagree with something /Goagoseb was saying.
Witnesses say Pieters admonished /Goagoseb for allegedly making racist and tribalistic statements.
Afterwards, /Goagoseb apparently had Pieters called out by a third pastor, claiming that they needed to discuss Pieters's objection.
When asked to comment yesterday, Pieters said when he approached /Goagoseb and others standing outside, /Goagoseb punched him in the face without warning.
"It was a cheap shot.
But we were broken up before it could escalate," Pieters said.
/Goagoseb denied knowledge of the incident, saying that at no point did he get physical with anybody at the memorial service.
He maintained that the call by The Namibian was the first he had heard of an incident between him and Pieters.
"Go to Pieters and see if he looks like someone who got beaten up.
There is no such thing," he maintained.
He said the report was merely an attempt by sensation seekers to tarnish his reputation.
By yesterday, the church had taken no disciplinary action.
ELCRN Bishop Zephania Kameeta was said to be on sick leave.
However, church sources said an investigation would likely be launched.
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