Twelve Apostle members exchange blows in church

Congregants belonging to two factions came to blows at the Twelve Apostolic Church of Christ in Bulawayo's Lobengula West suburb yesterday.

They clashed during a demonstration over alleged personalisation of the church by two bishops. The church was briefly turned into a boxing ring as fists flew thick and fast as congregants downed their Bibles and went physical.

What started off as a peaceful demonstration against two of the church's bishops, Bishop Aleck Francis Dube and Bishop Manners Aaron Ngwenya soon turned into a fistfight fight among the congregants with one end supporting the bishops and the other calling for their demotion.

It was revealed to Sunday News that the congregants have been at loggerheads since May 2015 when Bishops Dube and Ngwenya amended the church's constitution and joined the Apostolic Christian Council of Zimbabwe (ACCZ) without consulting the church members.

Furthermore, the bishops and their allies are said to have forcibly closed the Cowdray Park branch of the church and set up their own assembly in the same neighbourhood.

The bishops have been accused of insulting and threatening members of the congregation, telling them that should they keep speaking out, they would disappear.

As a result of the growing discontent at the church, congregants decided to come together yesterday from 16 different branches to show their disapproval of the bishops' actions. However, the protest turned ugly when they were met with repression particularly from Deacon Bongani Stefan Sibanda, who was the most vocal in defending the bishops.