CONTINUOUS infighting within the Apostolic Christian Council of Zimbabwe (ACCZ) has taken a new twist, with the organisation accusing life president Bishop Johannes Ndanga of embezzling funds meant for residential stands.
BY MUNESU NYAKUDYA
The organisation was officially launched in 2010 and has witnessed numerous squabbles relating to operations and the direction the organisation has taken.
According to documents gleaned by NewsDay, Ndanga is accused of using his power to form splinter housing co-operatives that were, however, not benefiting members.
This comes at a time when some ACCZ members had been accusing Ndanga of seeking political muscle to evade accountability. Recently, he organised a church interface meeting with First Lady Grace Mugabe, where she laid bare a litany of allegations against former Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Mnangagwa was dismissed just a day after Grace’s lampooning.
“It has been difficult over the years to distinguish whether ACCZ is an ecumenical body or a housing company. Bishop Ndanga became the founder of three housing development trusts which were used to siphon hard-earned cash from vapostori for his personal gain,” the documents read.
These housing co-operatives are ACCZ Housing Development Trust, Zimbabwe African Women Assembly (ZAWA) Housing Development Trust allegedly linked to his wife and Negotiated Benefits Housing Development Trust.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
“Thousands of followers lost their hard-earned resources, they were scammed in believing that Bishop Ndanga has vast tracts of land to accommodate everybody,” added the document.
Part of the sourced land was given to non-members including members of the army in some parts of the country, including Mutare, Chiredzi and Masvingo.
Millions of dollars are suspected to have been paid by the home seekers who never got anything since ACCZ was formed and unfortunately cannot speak with one voice as a result of them coming from different churches.
In 2013, the churches namely ZCC Mbungo led by Nehemiah Mutendi, ZCC Mndadzaka led by Mutendi Mutendi, Mugodhi Apostolic Church led by Tadewu Mugodhi and Betsda Apostolic Church led by Loveness Manhango all paid a total sum of around $400 000, and $130 000 was given to a fraudster Pikirayi who is serving a prison term for the offence.
The documents said that the organisation suffered several litigations as a result of Ndanga’s personal embezzlement.
Ndanga is also accused of treating organisational property as his personal entity to an extent that all movable properties became his, while ACCZ has no single asset.
“Several cars were bought over the years within the organisation, but only for him because he happens to be the only one authorising expenditure,” the documents said.
However, Ndanga has denied the allegations, saying members of the organisation had been trying to remove him from his position as ACCZ president without success and now they were trying to tarnish his image.
Ndanga said: “I have never met with people who were involved in Mutendi stands co-operative. I do not know anything about the stands. Taurai Mbewe is the one who is involved in that issue.”
