THE FORMER Bishop of Harare, Dr Nolbert Kunonga has filed a brief with the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe, asking that a lower court order granting joint usage of St Mary’s and All Saints Cathedral in Harare be overturned. In January High Court judge Rita Makarau ordered Dr Kunonga to permit the Bishop of Harare, Dr Sebastian Bakare to use the Cathedral after Dr Kunonga concluded his Sunday morning service.
However, Dr Kunonga has refused to give Bishop Bakare access to the cathedral, and with the help of members of the ruling government party ZANU-PF youth militia has barred worshippers from the building.
Last month the deputy sheriff of Harare was arrested by the police for attempting to serve an eviction order on Dr Kunonga, who has barricaded himself inside the church.
The police have so far declined to enforce the court order against Dr Kunonga prompting protests from church leaders over the collusion between the police commissioner and Dr Kunonga to pervert the course of justice.
In his March 13 petition, Dr Kunonga argued Judge Makarau “misdirected herself” by granting an order calling for the two parties to share the building for worship pending a final court decision. He argued churches were “indivisible and cannot be shared.”
The resulting order had forced him “to share his cathedral, which is the parish that houses his throne and administrative function” and prompted a “breach of peace at the instance of the Church of the Province of Central Africa and Bakare and has heightened religious tension."
The Diocese of Harare responded that “it is apparent that Kunonga is now a law unto himself and his attempt to get Madam Justice Makarau’s judgment set aside is an attempt to avoid the consequences of contempt of court proceedings.”
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