The long-running leadership battle that split the Zion Christian Church (ZCC) in Botswana came to a head at the High Court in Gaborone’s CBD yesterday, where Justice Zein Kebonang threw out the case and ordered the immediate reunification of the church.
After years of hostility, excommunications and competing claims to leadership, the two factions appeared before the court having reached a consensus. Justice Kebonang endorsed the agreement and made it binding, declaring, “When they leave, they are no longer factions, they are one church.”
All excommunicated members and branches will be reinstated unconditionally and with immediate effect. The judge also ordered that a full reconciliation meeting for the Botswana congregation be held at the church’s headquarters in Moria within three months, on a date convenient to Bishop Lekganyane and all church structures.
The court further directed that the ZCC undertake a nationwide reconciliation tour in Botswana, with previously expelled elders included as part of the delegation. The church must also prepare documentation regarding the Botswana congregation and its leadership, to be formalised through the church’s structures in South Africa.
“No more counter accusations,” Justice Kebonang said. “You should not come back to court,” he noted.
Read the full story in the Mmegi Friday print edition.
