TROUBLE in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Namibia (ELCRN) seems to be far from over as factional infighting, purportedly along tribal lines, persists.
The internal scuffle over leadership started before the church’s 28th ordinary elective synod was held in August last year.
The synod had then elected Sageus /Keib as new bishop over former deputy bishop Paul Kisting.
The conflict had split congregants and pastors into two factions – one supporting /Keib and the other Kisting.
Leaked minutes of a meeting between members of the pastors’ union, /Keib and his deputy, Abraham //Kheibeb, had on 9 June reveal a resurgence of the clash.
In the latest turn of events, members of the pastors’ union questioned why Kisting still received a salary with full benefits even though his term as deputy bishop expired in November last year.
They wanted to know why he was not suspended since he faces assault charges.
Kisting and his wife, Naomi, allegedly assaulted /Keib’s proponent, Mensia Ngunovandu-!Gaoses, in a brawl at the synod.
Union members accused the church council of double standards.
Kisting, the pastors charged, deliberately shunned the consecration event of the new bishop last year and “ridiculed it as a circus on social media”.
That and other issues give the church ample grounds to suspend Kisting, the pastors said.
They rejected a proposal for Kisting to retain the title of his former position.
Kisting last week dismissed the concerns raised against him as a “witch-hunt” with tribal undertones targeting church officials from the south of Namibia.
“The witch-hunt campaign based on tribal lines against us is filled with hatred of people who are supposed to be servants of God,” he said.
“If the church does not want my services, they must offer me a severance package,” Kisting said.
“The church did not protect me from people who had gatecrashed the recently held synod, and I was not willing to put my own safety in jeopardy,” he said, referring to the alleged brawl at the synod, resulting in the assault charge against him.
It transpired from the minutes of the 9 June meeting that the church’s assistant general secretary Wilfred Diergaardt authorised Kisting’s salary payments, with his wife as co-signatory, to be paid from the solidarity fund.
The pastor’s union also called for the suspension of Diergaardt on the grounds of favourtism, embezzlement of funds, theft under false pretenses, and the undermining of authority.
When contacted, Diergaardt declined to comment.
Ms Kisting on Wednesday said she has no rights to sign off payments from any church account. Additionally, the union members questioned the creation of a music coordinator position with an annual salary of N$300 000, which had allegedly been earmarked for Kisting.
According to the minutes, /Keib acknowledged the latter position was created during bishop Zephania Kameeta’s term.
Bishop Kameeta was quoted in the minutes as saying “it was premediated and should now come into effect”, referring to the position of music coordinator.
According to the minutes, Kameeta said the majority of members voted in Kisting’s favour.
The concerned pastors called for an audit of the church’s head office finances, the United Evangelical Mission (UEM) Fund, the Tabitha Centre.
“Why the selectivity around the auditing of the church institution?” Gertze asked. He rubbished the pastors’ union as an “illegal body,” and said they have failed to provide the church head office with monthly financial reports of their respective parishes.
According to him, concerns raised by the pastors’ union is just a smokescreen for a witch-hunt “tainted with a tribal flavour” against some of the southerners.
“/Keib needs to demonstrate leadership or he will rock the ELCRN ship,” Gertze said.
