War in the Lord's house

A bitter fight for control of the funds of a church in the small Western Cape town of Piketberg has taken an unholy turn.

Warring factions of the African Methodist Episcopal Church have taken the fight to the Cape Town High Court.

The police have been called in about 10 times to break up physical altercations at the Mount Olive Chapel, with the pastor laying assault charges against his congregants.

Last week the church's board of incorporators obtained an interdict preventing 28 congregants from disrupting its annual international founder's day ceremonies. The 28 include a former chairman of the church's council, Louis Nthane, and his successor, Pieter Dirks.

But the congregants are undeterred and have vowed to take the fight to the Constitutional Court.

In an affidavit, Pastor Clive Pillay said Nthane, Dirks and others had prevented him from performing his duties and taking up residence in the parsonage. He had been forced to convene services in a house.

Nthane and Dirks have been convicted of assaulting a church elder in two incidents.

Pillay wrote to the town's court manager in December asking for urgent action against the "dissident" congregants. He listed 12 incidents between February 2012 and November 2014.

"[We were] forced to call the police when the situation got volatile," Pillay wrote.

Dirks said the falling out began in 2010 when the congregants questioned the church's decision-makers about their reasons for not disciplining a presiding elder accused of sexual harassment.

When they received no response they decided to withhold their contributions to the church's funds. This resulted in their then pastor being expelled, Dirks said.

"We have been in protest ever since. This is our church ... our fathers built it."

The warring parties will be back in the High Court in June.