Up to five Anglican Church priests face possible criminal charges for disobeying a court order setting aside a decision by Reverend Mwamba to withdraw licences for some priests to practice.
Monthe, Marumo & Co lawyers, acting for A.J Molatlhwe and others who were reinstated by the court order threatened to cite at least five priests for contempt of court.
“We will obviously bring to the attention of the persons involved that disobedience of lawful Court Order is not only a matter of civil contempt but is also a criminal offence as it brings the administration of justice into disrepute and you may refer to Penal Code more particularly section 133 thereof.”
In their letter to Collins Newman & Co, the law firm, acting for Bishop Mwamba and church priests friendly to him, Monthe Marumo & Co stated that “we have received instructions from our clients from their respective perishes that the “respondents “ are conducting themselves in a manner amounting to contempt of the Order of the Court with respect to the Order aforesaid.
“In various Parishes, some of the applicants have been informed that they may not enjoy the fruits of the Order until a letter is written by the Bishop that they may do so.”
A number of Anglican Church priests this week also petitioned Bishop Mwamba for his globe trotting while neglecting congregations outside Gaborone, for his pro-homosexuality stance and for his apparent contempt of Botswana courts.
