Lutheran Evangelical church leadership row lands in court

The Lutheran Evangelical church has joined religious organisations whose leadership wrangles have spilled into court.

Richard Gitaa, who claims to be a congregant of the Swedish-founded mission, has sued the church’s archbishop, trustees and the registrar of societies, over allegations of using an unregistered constitution.

Gitaa, through his lawyer Joseph Agwata, told the court that the registrar, on March 12, 2026, wrote to him indicating that the church’s 2000 constitution was allegedly never registered.

Agwata said despite this revelation, the church’s leadership was allegedly running the institution using the same.

“The contents of the said letter clearly demonstrate that the purported 2008 Constitution is not part of the official records maintained by the registrar. Upon becoming aware of the continued use of the unregistered Constitution, I instructed my advocates to formally raise the issue with the registrar,” he said, adding that despite follow-ups, the registrar allegedly never responded further nor took any action.

Gitaa contended that the church had called for a general assembly on April 11 and 12, 2026 for elections.

He said that the same would be illegal, as it was allegedly based on the contested constitution.

Gitaa stated that the constitution introduces restrictive requirements of persons who want to vie. He claimed that the church requires that they either have a degree in theology or finance.

He argued that this was an exclusion of a majority of congregants from participating in leadership.

“I am apprehensive that unless this Honourable Court intervenes, the continued operation of the church under an unlawful framework may expose congregants to manipulation and harmful forms of religious indoctrination, similar to what was witnessed in the Shakahola massacre,” he argued.

The congregant said that the law requires him to exhaust all the remedies before approaching the court. He stated that he had engaged the registrar, but his issues were allegedly not resolved.

He insisted that the constitution at the heart of the case casts doubts on whether anyone elected will be in office legitimately.

“The petitioner is apprehensive that unless this Honourable Court intervenes, the Respondents will proceed with the intended General Assembly and elections under an unlawful framework. The petitioner further states that continued operation of religious organisations outside statutory oversight exposes congregants to manipulation, abuse and dangerous forms of indoctrination,” argued Agwata,

The lawyer wants the court to declare the 2008 constitution illegal, null and void. At the same time, he is seeking orders to bar the church from using the same document.

In the meantime, Gitaa is seeking orders for an AGM supervised by the registrar within 45 days.

In the alternative, he wants interim officials to be elected, pending proper elections. He is also seeking an order to invalidate all appointments made under the authority of the unregistered Constitution, including diocesan and board appointments.

“Respondents have further attempted to justify the use of the impugned Constitution by alleging that it had previously been submitted to the Registrar, which assertion is inconsistent with official records,” he argued.