Dear editors,
It is not the culture of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Botswana to respond to the media reports about itself. This time around, the Executive Committee of the Church Council at its meeting held in Gaborone on the 10th October 2012 resolved to respond to recent articles which appeared in some local newspapers. We are forced to respond for two main reasons; first, there is too much untruth in the articles, and secondly, the articles are damaging the credibility of the Leadership of the Church.
Let’s start first; there is no war inside the Church. There are forty three Congregations of the Church country wide. If Rev. Thabiso Segatlhe is indiscipline and does not want to take orders from his seniors and senior structure of the Church and mobilise a certain group in the Ramotswa Congregation to support his behaviour, this cannot be deemed war inside the Church. Ramotswa Congregation is not the Church, and this group we believe knows this fact. Why they rush to the media to create a wrong impression that the church is at war?
Any Pastor in the Church is subject to be transferred, re-deployed and re-designated where ever the Church find it necessary. Rev. Thabiso Segatlhe refused to be removed as a Pastor in-charge of the Ramotswa Congregation because he is not a fulltime employee of the Church and the Church want to send a fulltime pastor to Ramotswa and stay at the Church house/ parsonage for management sake, but Rev. Thabiso Segatlhe and his cohorts refused this change; imagine a situation where every Pastor can stay where ever he/she wants and influences the Congregation to back him, there will be chaos in the Church. Rev. Segatlhe, while Acting Bishop during time when Bishop Moenga was on studies in America, Pastors were suspended and transferred. So what is so special about him? Why does he want to BE IN CHARGE of the Ramotswa Congregation?
For record sake, the Circuit Meeting which meet on the 13th to 16th September 2012 was an illegal meeting because it was attended by suspended people, including Segatlhe.
On the Financial situation, for record sake, it is truth that the Church is going through some financial challenges. However, this started long before Bishop Moenga became into office because the former Bishop of the Church at the 2003 Synod/Assembly held at Ramatea reported that the Church is facing financial difficulties which might lead to its closure if nothing is being done. The rational for this decline was that the overseas partners were no longer supporting the church financially as it used to be. It is for the reason that in 2004, a Committee was appointed by the Church Council to see to what can be done to serve the situation. This Commission which was chaired by Rev. Ericson from Finish Partners, found that overseas Partners were also facing financial challenges and the little money they have was given to the needy countries such as Ethiopia and Liberia since Botswana is regarded as a middle income country. It was recommended that the Congregations should start paying the Church workers and pastors serving them, hence Decentralization Policy document was put in place. Now to turn around and claim that the financial challenges are new is to be economical with the truth to say the least.
The other issues are meant to damage the credibility of the Bishop. To start with in Lutheran tradition, the Bishop is BISHOP IN COUNCIL. What does this mean is that the BISHOP CANNOT TAKE ANY DECISION ALONE. It is the Church Council which takes decisions on behalf of the Synod for the running of the Church. The Church Council delegates its powers to the Executive Committee when the Church Council is not sitting. The Bishop’s duty is to implement the decisions of both the Church Council and Synod. That is, at the 2011 Synod/Assembly, the Church approved the decision of the Church Council to suspend Rev. Thabiso Segatlhe, and therefore the Church Council wrote to Segatlhe informing him to vacate the Church house and to hand-over the position of Pastor in-charge of the Ramotswa Congregation. Rev. Thabiso Segatlhe however refused to accept the decision of the highest decision making body of the Church. That is when the Church Council resolved to ask for intervention of the court .Bishop Dr Moenga was only authorised by the Church Council to sign the papers on behalf of the Church as per the Church Constitution. However, some papers that were sent to the court were not signed, the judge dismissed the applicatioin and advised that the case can still be brought to the court through action not by application as before. The judge had NEVER NULLFIED the decision of the Church Council to suspend Rev Thabiso Segatlhe. We hope and believe that Rev. Thabiso Segatlhe is aware that by not telling truth concerning the judgement might lead him not to be trusted by the public knowledge.
The issue of Manyana project cannot be associated to the case. Prior to 2003 some overseas partners gave money to build Churches in Manyana (Central circuit), Rakops (Northern Circuit), and Herford (South Western Circuit). However this money did not reach those Congregations. The official version of the story by that time was that the money was diverted to other areas such as administration and salaries of Church workers. This position of the Church was reported to overseas partners who gave the money and they accepted the story and the matter were closed. Those who want to open the matter through the Bishop, the former Bishop (Bishop P. J. Robinson) was in the office by then and he stays in Ramotswa fortunately could help respond to this; it has nothing to do with Bishop Moenga.
Concerning Bishop Moenga selling Church properties to pay lawyers as stated above, it is not Moenga but the Church. The lawyers’ costs will be regarded like any other Church bills, money will be raised as it is always raised to pay other Church bills. People should not think they can do whatever they want because the Church is financially challenged so cannot take them to court. Any poor person or institution/organisation has all the right to ask for courts’ assistance when his/her rights are violated. Those few in Ramotswa shouldn’t think they have money therefore they can make the Church of God their toy, this should never happen. For records sake, in 2004, a proposal was made by Bishop Robinson that all the Church houses in Gaborone should be sold because people were not paying rent, by that time Bishop Moenga was Bishop’s Deputy and he blocked the decision in the Church Council. However one Church house in Broadhurst was eventually sold for P30,000 only. Before Bishop Moenga came to office, many Church properties were sold or given away or taken by powerful people and turned into associations to benefit individuals. An example is Ramatea which was bought by a Germany Partners (United Evangelical Mission) for the Church in order to generate income to the Church but it was taken from the Church and ended benefiting individuals.
We all know these things; to be quite does not mean we are stupid. If we are pushed far we shall talk and name names. Many centres and boreholes belonging to the Church were given away and they costs millions and millions of Pula. And when Bishop Moenga is struggling hard to reclaim some of these properties back to the Church, is being insulted and hated for these, and accused of selling Church properties. People do not see good things that Bishop Moenga has done since he came to the office. Properties were bought and some developed. Look at LAPE lodge – leased out, Horticulture project in Woodpecker, look at the joint projects run by two Lutheran Churches in Botswana. Bishop Moenga has brought peace among the Lutheran Churches in Botswana though. Just as they did with Bishop Rapoo, when they turned an innocent bishop into a devil when they were indiscipline they are in the same root again. Batswana should not be misled twice.
Lastly, when Bishop Moenga goes on overseas trip, he is always invited by overseas partners and such trips are financed by those who invite him. It should be noted that Bishop Moenga is also the President of the Lutheran Communion in Southern Africa, an umbrella body of sixteen Lutheran Churches in Southern Africa. Dr. Moenga is also member of the Lutheran Council in Africa, and as well Dr. Moenga is an outstanding Lutheran Theologian; he is often invited to attend and present papers on theological and ethical issues affecting the world today. We the ELCB must be proud of him for this.
The claim that Bishop Moenga is against Rev. Thabiso Segatlhe does not hold water. The fact of the matter is that Rev. Segatlhe (Thabiso) does not qualify to be a Bishop in the ELCB; he can’t even be included in the roster of eligible candidates, as according to the current Church Constitution.
Thus, in order for one to become a Bishop you should have served the Church in Congregations fulltime for at least seven years, however, Rev. Thabiso Segatlhe has never served any Congregation to meet these requirements. However, for your information, Bishop Moenga sometimes ago had asked Rev. Thabiso Segatlhe to come to Gaborone to serve at the Cathedral as the Dean of the Cathedral on fulltime basis so that he would qualify to stand for the Bishop’s elections, but he refused. We also know that Bishop Moenga facilitated to source out scholarship for Rev. Thabiso Segatlhe from the Finish partners for theological studies at the University of Botswana where he was enrolled, but he did not complete his studies-he either failed or discontinued himself, no one knows because he did not tell the Church or the sponsors. As mentioned above, the minimum qualification a Pastor must have to stand for Bishop’s elections is diploma in theology (according to the current Constitution) which Rev. Thabiso Segatlhe does not have. Because of his attitude in the Church, even if he could contest in the Bishop’s elections people would not vote for him; this already happened in the 2010 Synod elections already where he was only voted for by only eight (8) out of hundred and thirteen (113) delegates of the Synod. Whether Bishop Moenga leaves/goes or not Rev. Thabiso Segatlhe can never be the Bishop of ELCB in the current situation; he messed up the conditions himself. By the way, ELCB has many capable Pastors who qualify and marketable to take over from Bishop Dr. Moenga when he steps down.
In God we trust.
By Rev. Dickson D. Moyambo (General Secretary)
