Bame Piet
7 November 2008
Some members of the Anglican Church are planning to march to the Anglican Cathedral on South Ring Road in Gaborone today to hand a petition to Bishop Trevor Mwamba, the Bishop of the Diocese of Botswana, calling on the controversial prelate to step down.
The march will start from the city centre.
The petition follows a High Court ruling last month in which the court ruled in favour of six priests who challenged their dismissal by Bishop Mwamba. The priests, originally seven in number, are Aubrey Molatlhwe, Botshabelo Beleme, Moreri Leteemane, Mooketsi Mokgatlhe, Paul Beleme, and Patrick Ncaagae for the congregations of Lobatse, Molepolole, Mahalapye, Broadhurst, Mogoditshane, and Tonota respectively.
Pastor Essau Mosima of the Selebi-Phikwe congregation has since died.
The congregations accuse the bishop of failing to honour the court ruling, saying he does not allow the priests to preach the Word of God. It is said the bishop wants to appeal the court ruling, while some members of his flock are against the idea.
The Mogoditshane congregation recently wrote a letter to the bishop distancing itself from Mwamba and his decision to appeal. The Broadhurst congregation is said to have written a similar letter earlier.
At the time of going to press, attempts to get a comment from church elder Benjamin Moleko were futile. But in a recent interview, Moleko said he knew nothing about the appeal, saying the judgment was yet to be discussed and a position adopted.
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