Baptist Fellowship asks court to dismiss case of own clergy allegedly barred from contesting church position

The Baptist Fellowship of Zambia has pleaded with the Lusaka High Court to dismiss the matter in which its own Reverend, Ebby Musika, is challenging his disqualification from contesting the position of Executive Secretary.

Outgoing Executive Secretary, Rev Misheck Zulu, filed an application for an order to set aside writ of summons and dismiss action for irregularity.

Zulu said the writ of summons and statement of claim was not accompanied by a letter of demand acknowledged as received by the defendant, list and description of documents and list of witnesses, which are prerequisite documents when one is suing.

He also submitted that Musika ought to have sued Baptist Fellowship Church being a person at law having been incorporated under the Land Perpetual Succession Act and not the executive secretary.

“The plaintiff irregularly cited the Executive Secretary as defendant which own without citing the name of the person holding that position, and therefore he cannot be a person at law to be sued or sue in a representative capacity of any body,” he said.

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In his defence, the executive secretary maintained that Musika was not qualified to contest the position as he had failed the set requirements among them that he had passed the maximum age limit of 50 years.

“The defendant will aver that among others, one of the requirements which the defendant’s executive committee had set was the maximum age limit of 50 years for a prospective applicant for the position of executive secretary.

“The defendant will aver that the plaintiff was vehemently opposed to the idea of capping the maximum age limit for an applicant. The defendant will further aver that it was only after the defendant had applied for the position that the Executive committee realised why the defendant was opposed to capping the maximum age limit for a candidate,” stated.

He stated that the executive committee’s decision to disqualify Musika was made purely on the principle that ‘equality is equity ” as all candidates had to be treated equally with none having one foot ahead of others.

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