MOMBASA: Redeemed Gospel Church head Bishop Arthur Kitonga and his Jesus Celebration Centre (JCC) counterpart Wilfred Lai are locked in a legal battle over the ownership of a church in Makindu, Makueni County.
The wrangle over the ownership of the church started on July 13 last year when Bishop Lai's attempt to register the church under JCC prompted those allied to Kitonga to move to Makindu Magistrate's Court to stop him from trespassing into the property.
Angered by the action, Lai rushed to the High Court in Mombasa before Justice Edward Mureithi who temporarily stopped the proceedings in Makindu.
Mureithi also ordered Lai who was represented by John Khaminwa to serve the rival group and directed the file to be placed before Mombasa Resident Judge Mathew Emukule who fixed a date for hearing of the application.
Thursday, when the case came up for hearing before Justice Emukule, Redeemed Gospel Church's lawyer Steven Adere asked the High Court to dismiss the application by Lai seeking to halt the proceedings in Makindu.
He told the court that Lai's JCC Church had no legal right to take over the church complex at Makindu because it does not belong to JCC.
But Dr Khaminwa replied that the disputed church belonged to JCC and asked the court to have the trespass case against Lai in the Makindu court stopped.
He insisted that JCC was operating legally and asked the judge to dismiss the claims by Redeemed Gospel Church that the magistrate's court in Makindu has jurisdiction to hear the case.
Khaminwa said the issues touching on the matter could only be adjudicated in a constitutional court presided by a judge.
He argued that since Muriithi had given a temporary order stopping the principal magistrate in Makindu from proceeding with the case, the judge should allow their application so that the issues in question are determined.
Emukule wondered who between the church congregation and the church trustees owned the disputed church.
He said this after Adere said that JCC church trustee deed was operating illegally because it had not been registered.
Adere insisted that the church in question was owned by Redeemed Gospel Church under Kitonga who is legally operating in the country as a registered church.
He further stunned the court when he alleged that JCC was operating illegally as it had never been registered as a society by the Registrar of Societies.
"Jesus Celebration Centre JCC church headed by Bishop Dr Wilfred Lai is operating illegally in the country because it has not been registered by the Registrar of Societies. I have a letter from Registrar of Societies which says that JCC has not been registered by Registrar of Societies," said Adere.
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He dismissed claims by Lai that members of the disputed church had resolved to join JCC, saying some minutes produced in court showing a resolution to join JCC church belongs to another church in Shimba Hills.
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