ZCC constitution is a fraud
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Following an application by some Zion Christian Church (ZCC) members in Botswana challenging the church’s disregard and violation of its own constitution, another member who sits on the church’s lawyers’ panel launched a fresh application this week challenging that the 2009 Botswana constitution is fraudulent.
“The applicants have instituted legal proceedings against ZCC relying on the 2009 constitution that is not operational or not in use and as such the said constitution does not govern the affairs of ZCC in Botswana. I will further pray for the Honourable court to declare the said constitution null and void and of no force and effect,” Jost Sinvula Isaac who is a member and lawyer of ZCC declared in court papers the Weekend Post is in possession of.
Prior, 11 members of the church being Tshiamo Tladi, Khumo Gaorengwe, Mogomotsi Bogosi, Stanley Lejone, Daniel Mathibe, Lesetse Othamo, Mmusi Moeng, Mmatli Lopale, Lebogang Bose, Faneck Bareki and Tony Joseph last week dragged the church together with its Bishop Dr. Barnabas Edward Lekganyane to court saying the ZCC local branch is flouting on its constitution of 2009 – which is currently the subject of the “storm”.
Isaac, who sits in the ZCC attorneys’ panel instituted a fresh application this week as a member of the church and argued that the submission of the 2009 constitution by ZCC to the Registrar of Societies was not necessary as the church had a South African church constitution that was in use since 1994.
He said: “it is my humble submission that the 1994 constitution is the lawful and operational constitution of the ZCC church in Botswana as it has never been repealed or invalidated by any lawful process.”
Accordingly, he emphasized that the “2009 Botswana constitution is illegal, unlawful and a nullity in law and of no force and effect”.
When supporting his arguments the lawyer said there are new facts which he intends to bring before court, which have not been brought forth by any of the parties in the 11 members versus ZCC, Bishop Lekganyane, pending before the court. He added that he discovered the facts after thorough research, making inquiries and perusing the church file at the Registrar of Societies.
Sometimes in the early 1990’s, he explained, the church applied for registration of its constitution and “exemption” from registration under the Societies Act. The exemption was then approved and they were issued with an exemption certificate. In applying for exemption, he said the church filed its constitution from South Africa, which was received by the Registrar of Societies on the 5th July 1994.
“The church was thus confirmed as a society exempted from registration in terms of the Act and that it was headquartered and controlled outside the country (South Africa), with a universal constitution that applied to all its members and was registered accordingly.”
A perusal of the church file at the Registrar of Societies’ office reveals that sometimes there was a misconception on the part of officials of the church as to its registration status in Botswana.
Indications are that at some stage the church engaged the Office of the President (OP) to have the church exempted from registration, when in fact the church was ‘already’ exempted from registration.
Therefore, the ZCC member stated further that it seems that the confusion that resulted in the registration of the 2009 constitution began with a public announcement that was made by the Registrar of Societies in 2008.
In terms of that notice, all churches which were registered using the constitutions of their ‘mother churches based outside the country’ were now required to file ‘local’ constitutions and a deadline was set for that purpose.
“This request was not made in terms of any provisions of the Societies Act. I must add that this public announcement was not addressed to the ZCC. While the legal propriety of this notice was itself questionable, it was nonetheless not necessary for the church to concern itself with the notice as it was an exempted society which had a constitution in place.”
Other churches that are exempted such as the Roman Catholic Church did not concern themselves with the notice and they did not file local constitutions.
In the end, the ZCC lawyer said a local constitution was developed and on June 2009, the 2009 constitution was submitted to the Registrar of Societies.
He pointed out that the registration status of the church is a matter that has not been ventilated at all by all the parties to the main application (11 ZCC members) “yet it is at the centre of the controversy in these proceedings”.
According to Isaac, “when this 2009 constitution was submitted, what was overlooked is the fact that the church had a constitution that was in use and further that it was exempted from registration, and that under no circumstances could the church be required to submit local constitution.”
He added that the filing of the 2009 constitution therefore would have resulted in the Exemption of the church being rescinded or cancelled since the preamble of the said constitution states that the church is constituted in terms of Section 5 of the Societies Act.
“When the 2009 constitution was filed with the Registrar of Societies, the church awaited response from the Registrar’s office in relation to the registration of such constitution but to date there is no such response and my understanding is that in the absence of any meaningful response the said constitution was never formally registered for it to be effective.”
The ZCC member also expressed that he is greatly aggrieved by the 2009 constitution because it creates a different ZCC than the church itself. “The church will effectively have two parallel seemingly distinct constitutions since the 2009 constitution did not repeal the 1994 constitution nor was it registered.”
The constitution does not make any reference to the status of the church as an exempted society, suggesting that it was submitted under a misapprehension of facts as to the registration status of the church, he highlighted.
In the 2009 constitution, it is stated that: “the headquarters of the church is said to be Lot 20462, Gaborone. This has never been the headquarters of the church. To the best of my knowledge, the headquarters of the church is Zion city Moria in Limpopo Province of South Africa,” the lawyer clarified.
The Executive Council is entrusted with powers that have hitherto been the preserve of the Church Council, and the 2009 constitution as it is if adopted will hinder the smooth running of the church in Botswana, he highlighted.
“I therefore intend to raise arguments questioning the validity of this 2009 constitution. The proceedings will have to involve the Registrar of Societies, through the Attorney General.”
“I have raised these issues with the church. In particular I have raised the issue of invalidity of the 2009 constitution with the General Secretary of the church as well as lawyers panel of the church,” he added.
However, Isaac said his pleas for the church to raise these issues have not been headed to. “I understand this to be because the members of the lawyers’ panel directly responsible for this case hold views that are different from mine,” he stated. “To my understanding the church has therefore not been advised to raise these issues in the manner I seek to raise them. I respect this divergent of views, and now ask this court to give me a hearing.”
“As a member of the church, which is a very big international church, and further as an official of the church where the applicants (11 members) in the main action worship, I have an interest in ensuring that the church is governed properly and I consider the raising of these issues to be my responsibility and duty.”
Going forward, he observed that a decision on this matter will also clear any confusion to the registration status of ZCC, the constitution that is in use and the responsibilities of the church in terms of the Societies Act.
Isaac’s new application citing the Botswana church constitution as “a fraud” will be argued still before Justice Michael Mothobi on 19th August 2016 and it will determine whether the previous matter on violation of the local church constitution falls off or not.
In the 11 members’ case, ZCC was represented by Advocates Soraya Skhassim (SC) and Lenette Pillay from South Africa and Uyapo Ndadi of Ndadi Law Firm in Botswana sat in for the aggrieved 11 ZCC members while in the fresh application due in August, attorney Jost Sinvula Isaac represented himself.
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Local tennis team upbeat ahead of Billie Jean King cup
With almost two weeks until the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup, which will be staged in Kenya from June 12-17, 2023, the Botswana Tennis Association (BTA) ladies’ team coach, Ernest Seleke, is optimistic about reaching greater heights.
Billie Jean King Cup, or the BJK Cup, is a premier international team competition in women’s tennis, launched as the Federation Cup to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The BJK Cup is the world’s largest annual women’s international team sports competition in terms of the number of nations that compete.
The finals will feature 12 teams (Botswana, Burundi, Ghana, Kenya, Seychelles, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Tunisia, Mauritius, Zimbabwe, and the Democratic Republic of Congo) competing in the four round-robin groups of three. The four group winners will qualify for the semifinals, and the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup will be crowned after the completion of the knockout phase.
Closer to home, the BW Tennis team is comprised of Thato Madikwe, Leungo Monnayoo, Chelsea Chakanyuka, and Kelebogile Monnayoo. However, according to Seleke, they have not assembled the team yet as some of the players are still engaged.
“At the moment, we are depending on the players and their respective coaches in terms of training. However, I will meet up with Botswana-based players in the coming week, while the United States of America (USA) based player Madikwe will probably meet us in Kenya. Furthermore, Ekua Youri and Naledi Raguin, who are based in Spain and France respectively, will not be joining us as they will be writing their examinations,” said Seleke.
Seleke further highlighted the significance of this competition and how competitive it is. “It is a massive platform for our players to showcase their talent in tennis, and it is very competitive as countries target to get promoted to the world categories where they get to face big nations such as Spain, France, USA, and Italy. Though we are going to this tournament as underdogs because it is our second time participating, I’m confident that the girls will put in a good showing and emerge with results despite the odds,” highlighted Seleke.
Quizzed about their debut performance at the BJK Cup, he said, “I think our performance was fair considering the fact that we were newbies. We came third in our group after losing to North Macedonia and South Africa. We went on to beat Uganda, then Kenya in the playoffs. Unfortunately, we couldn’t play Burundi due to heavy rainfall and settled for the position 9/10,” he said.
For her part, team representative Leungo Monnayoo said they are working hard as they aim to do well at the tourney. “The preparations for the tourney have long begun because we practice each and every day. We want to do well, hence we need to be motivated. Furthermore, I believe in my team as we have set ourselves a big target of coming home with the trophy,” she said.
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Pep Stores donates sanitary towels to Popagano JSS
The Guidance and Counseling unit at Popagano Junior Secondary School received a donation of 790 sanitary towels from Pep stores on Thursday.
When presenting the donation, Mareledi Thebeng, the Dinokaneng Area Manager, highlighted their belief in giving back to the community, as their existence depends on the communities they serve. Thebeng pointed out that research indicates one in four girls miss school every day due to the lack of basic necessities like sanitary towels. Therefore, as a company, they strive to assist in alleviating this situation. She expressed hope that this donation would help ensure uninterrupted learning for girls.
Upon receiving the donation on behalf of the students, Charity Sambire, the President of the Student Representative Council, expressed her gratitude. Sambire specifically thanked Pep Store for their generous gift, speaking on behalf of the students, especially the girl child.
She conveyed their sincere appreciation for Pep Store’s compassion and quoted the adage, “Blessed is the hand that gives.” Sambire expressed the students’ hope for Pep Stores’ prosperity, enabling them to continue supporting the students. As a gesture of gratitude, the students pledged to excel academically.
During her speech, Motlalepula Madome, the Senior Teacher in Guidance and Counseling, highlighted that many students at the school come from disadvantaged backgrounds where parents struggle to provide basic necessities. Consequently, some students miss school when they experience menstruation due to this lack.
Madome emphasized the significance of the donation in preventing the girl child from missing lessons and its potential to improve the school’s overall results. She expressed the school’s gratitude and expressed a desire for continued support from Pep Stores.
Popagano Junior Secondary School, situated in the Okavango District, holds the second position academically in the North West region. Despite its location, the school has been dedicated to achieving excellence since 2017
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Botswana misses out critical PAP committee meeting
The Pan African Parliament (PAP) committee on gender, family, youth and people with disability in its sitting considered, adopted and recommended to the plenary session the preliminary report on the framework for the model law on gender equality.
According to the last week’s media release from PAP which is sitting with its various committees until June 2nd, the committee is following up the PAP initiative to draw up a model law on gender equality to enable national governments to harmonize, modernize and standardize their legislations to address local needs is set to be discussed in Plenary.
However, what is concerning is the fact that Botswana which is a member state missed the deliberations. Kgosi Mosadi Seboko who sat in the committee representing Botswana has since been ejected by parliament and this is a huge blow for a nation that is still battling equity and gender balance.
“Although PAP has no legislative powers it makes model laws for member states to adopt. PAP also develops protocols to be ratified by countries. The input of countries at Committee state is extremely critical. It now means the voice of Botswana is missing the discussions leading up to development of protocols or model laws,” said one of Botswana’s representative at PAP Dr. Kesitegile Gobotswang who is attending the current session.
While Botswana is missing, the committee meeting took place on the sidelines of the Sixth PAP second ordinary Session being held under the African Union Theme of the Year for 2023, “The Year of AfCFTA: Accelerating the Implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area” in Midrand, South Africa and will run up to 2 June 2023. Chairperson of the Committee, Hon Mariam Dao-Gabala expressed satisfaction with preliminary processes undertaken so far towards the formulation of the Model Law,” a release from the PAP website reads.
“The law should be suitable to all countries whatever the predominant culture or religion is. The aim is to give an opportunity to women to participate in the economic, political and social development of the continent. Women are not well positioned and face a lot of obstacles. We are introducing the idea of equity in the Law because we cannot talk about equality without equity,” said Hon Mariam Dao-Gabala in the press statement.
The release has stated that among issues to be covered by the Model Law is the migratory movements of women. The Committee proffered that this has to be addressed at the continental level to ensure that migrant women enjoy all their rights and live with dignity in their destination country. The members of the Gender Committee undertook consultations to consolidate the contributions of the various stakeholders that will be the logical framework format for the Model Law.