A court application seeking an urgent interdict to prevent members of the ANC Youth League, ANC Women’s League and EFF from protesting outside alleged sex-pest pastor Timothy Omotoso’s church was held over on Tuesday when the parties embroiled in the tussle agreed to postpone the matter for three weeks.
Three purported members of the Jesus Dominion International (JDI) church turned to the Port Elizabeth High Court, saying they and other members had been harassed, intimidated and forced to shut the church’s doors.
Ntombo Mbaza, Mbeko Mnyatheli and Madoda Cingo filed the notice of motion last week, citing the ANC Youth League, ANC Women’s League, EFF and the JDI as respondents in the matter.
They do not seek any relief from the church.
Omotoso and his co-accused, Lusanda Sulani, 36, and Zukiswa Sitho, 28, face a total of 97 charges, ranging from racketeering to human trafficking, rape and sexual assault.
On October 21, a group calling itself Nelson Mandela Bay Citizens in Unity, staged a protest outside the church’s Port Elizabeth branch, in Govan Mbeki Avenue, leading to it shutting its doors and sending its members home.
The protesters comprised members of the two ANC leagues, the SA Students Congress, SA Federation of Trade Unions and other civic organisations.
In her founding affidavit, Mbaza, an administrator at the Port Elizabeth branch of the church, said they wanted the court to bar the cited parties from protesting within 200m of the church’s perimeter.
“I do not dispute that the respondents’ members are entitled to protest [against] what they believe is injustice towards women,” Mbaza said.
“They are even entitled to try and persuade us not to attend or belong to JDI, but they cannot forcibly prevent us from attending church or forcibly close the church.”
Mbaza claimed those cited in the notice had labelled the church a cult and that denying congregants the right to attend services at the church was tantamount to infringing on their constitutional rights.
“By denying us the opportunity to meet and reassure our members [that the JDI is not a cult] there is a strong chance the JDI will wither and die in Port Elizabeth,” Mbaza said.
In responding papers filed by ANC Women’s League regional co-ordinator Nontombi Nama and submitted by advocate Yanga Malunga, Nama claimed the affidavit penned by Mbaza for the interdict “advanced the interest which exclusively accrue to the [JDI]”.
ANC Youth League regional secretary Luyolo Nqakula, in his answering affidavit, said the application by the JDI members lacked urgency as the protest took place on October 21, but the application had been filed only 11 days later – on November 1.
“This matter is not urgent and the alleged urgency by the applicants is self-created,” Nqakula said.
Both Nama and Nqakula further submitted that neither they nor any of the members of their parties had forced the church to close its doors.
They argued that it was the police on the scene that suggested the church close its doors for safety reasons.
“The applicants themselves said the church was closed by the police,” Nqakula submitted.
Legal counsel for Mbaza, Cingo and Mnyatheli, advocate Bruce Dyke, told the court he had still not received a response from the EFF and asked judge Thembekile Malusi to grant an interim order pending the finalisation of the matter.
Malusi said it was important to establish whether the applicants in the matter had the right or capacity to bring the application.
After both Malunga and advocate Samkele Maliwa for the ANCYL submitted signed answering affidavits on behalf of their respective clients, Dyke indicated to the court that he wished to reply to the responses from Nqakula and Nama.
Malunga told the court he was in a position to argue the matter on Tuesday on the grounds that the application was not urgent, that the applicants did not have the right to bring the application and that there was no cause for action.
Malusi said it was Dyke’s right to reply to the responses and the matter was postponed to November 27 for argument.