Sheriffs demolish a church
Sheriffs in Blantyre on Tuesday demolished a Church of Christ building at Ntopwa, over land dispute.
It is reported that the dispute between the church and Evance Mkwate dates back to 1980.
One of the church members, Gloria Paliani, Blantyre Magistrate’s Court ruled in 2008 that the land belongs to the church and Mkwate was ordered to vacate.
“Since 2008, we have not heard anything from the court. They claim that the case was ongoing but nobody from the church knew about it until when they came. The sheriffs should have first investigated the matter before they acted on it,” she said.
Paliani added that the destruction will negatively affect the growth of the church.
“The children of God will now have nowhere to worship because of this. This is unfortunate. We cannot be living like during colonial era anymore,” she said.
But Mkwate said the court ruled in 2010 in his favour saying the church disobeyed its order until the court ordered the sheriffs to demolish the church.
“I don’t know what they are talking about because the court ruled in my favour. The church was just reluctant to vacate the land since 2010,” he said.
Judiciary spokesperson, Mlenga Mvula, confirmed that the court ruled in favour of Mkwate, saying that the sheriffs were only enforcing the court’s ruling.
“The court determined that the land belonged to Evance Mkwate and then ordered the church to vacate within the given period but they didn’t,” Mvula said.
He dismissed calims that the case was tried without the church’s knowledge.
“Everyone in a case is served before the commencement of any trial. As a mere church member, she [Paliani] may not have known but the registered trustees of the church know about the case,” he said.
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