Less than six months after the death of Archbishop Daniel Katikisa Tjijombo, two factions of the St John Apostolic Faith Mission are now in a court brawl over rights to the church premises in Katutura.
The St John Apostolic Faith Mission has taken its rival, the First St John’s Apostolic Faith Mission, to court over the ownership of Erf 5837 on which the church is situated in Katutura.
St John Apostolic Faith Mission claims that it is the registered owner of the property, and the church is the holder of a mortgage registered by the Mission.
According to papers filed at the High Court, the St John Apostolic Faith Mission acquired ownership of the said property from the City of Windhoek before Namibia attained political independence from apartheid South Africa. By virtue of his appointment as bishop of what was then known as the Diocese for South West Africa, Tjijombo thus gained control over the disputed property.
However, the papers state that Tjijombo was expelled from the St John Apostolic Faith Mission for ill-discipline and misconduct, and ended up establishing the First St John’s Apostolic Faith Mission.
Bishop Melgisedek Hengari from the St John Apostolic Faith Mission stated that Tjijombo is in unlawful occupation of the premises, as he was expelled from the St John Apostolic Faith Mission.
But despite this, he had steadfastly refused to vacate the premises, and operated the First St John’s Apostolic Faith Mission as an independent church in Namibia from the premises where he regularly conducted church services and resided.
As such, Hengari is baying for the eviction of Tjijombo and his church from the premises, and for costs of suit on the scale of attorney and client.
On the opposing end, Tjijombo in court papers filed before his death last year claimed that he is the registered owner of the premises.
In fact, he submitted that the property is Erf 8537, Extension 11 along Bishop PDK Tjijombo Street in Katutura, and not Erf 5837 as Hengari claims. If indeed Hengari refers to Erf 5837, then they are referring to a totally different erf and not the one on which his church is situated, Tjijombo argued.
Tjijombo continued that his church and the plaintiff were both part of one church known as St John Apostolic Faith Mission, and he was the Archbishop of the said church. However, he said, in 1993, some members left the St John Apostolic Faith Mission and formed the First St John’s Apostolic Faith Mission Church, and Hengari was one of them. According to Tjijombo, he continued to operate under the name and style of St John Apostolic Faith Mission until he went and registered the First St John’s Apostolic Faith Mission on 12 March 2021.
Furthermore, he said, the property was registered by him and the then secretary of the church, the late Reverend Joel Kuvare, without any interference from the mother church in South Africa. In fact, the only leg the applicants have to stand on is the fact that the property is still registered under the name St John Apostolic Faith Mission and not the First St. John’s Apostolic Faith Mission, an omission they will redress soonest.
Tjijombo submitted that he and his followers paid for the costs regarding the zoning of the erf and other associated costs. He also argued that he and his church have been paying and continue to pay all municipal bills, rates and taxes and valuation fees “since time immemorial”.
Since the construction and completion of the said erf in 1977, the property has been under the care of the church members and him, who have been paying all municipal bills and maintenance as well as upgrading projects to date without any contribution from the South African church, Tjijombo stated. As a result, the applicants do not have a foot to stand on, and the respondents asked for their suit to be dismissed with costs.
The applicants [Hengari] are represented by Linus Mokhatu, instructed by Du Pisani Legal Practitioners, and the defendants [Tjijombo] by Kaijata Kangueehi from Kangueehi & Kavendjii Inc.
Tjijombo, an anti-apartheid and liberation struggle icon, died in July 2023.