AFM Leadership Crisis: High Court Nullifies Cossam Chiangwa Election, Orders Fresh Polls

CHURCH IN CRISIS | HIGH COURT RULING

AFM Plunged into Chaos: High Court Nullifies Election of Rev Cossam Chiangwa, Orders Fresh Polls!

Focus: Constitutional Breaches & Church Governance  
  Location: Harare, Zimbabwe 🇿🇼  
  Report By: Sona News & Investigations Desk

The powerful Apostolic Faith Mission of Zimbabwe (AFM) has been plunged into a devastating leadership crisis after the High Court sensationally nullified the church’s May 3, 2025 elections, ruling that the process was heavily tainted by an unlawfully altered constitutional age limit.

JUDICIAL INTERVENTION: High Court Judge Justice Tawanda Chitapi has ordered the AFM to form an interim committee and hold fresh leadership elections within 30 days following an unconstitutional age-limit maneuver.

Delivering a massive blow to the current presidium, High Court Judge Justice Tawanda Chitapi ordered the immediate nullification of the elections of President Reverend Dr Cossam Chiangwa, Deputy President Reverend Amon Chinyemba, General Secretary Dr Nathan Nhira, and National Administrator Shepherd Sebata. The disputed leaders have now been ordered to organize fresh polls within 30 days—and crucially, three of them have been legally barred from contesting.

The Dispute The Ruling Interim Chaos FAQs Verdict

The 70-Year Age Limit Maneuver

The legal challenge brought by church members Daniel Mhlanga and Dennis Maposa exposed deep internal divisions over how the church handles constitutional amendments to favor incumbents.

A Contentious Council Meeting:

The Age Limit Alteration The AFM constitution strictly provides that candidates for the presidium must be between 50 and 65 years old at the time of election. However, during a February 2025 meeting at Mufaro Conference Centre in Masvingo, Dr Chiangwa allegedly introduced a resolution to unlawfully raise the age limit to 70.

A Forced Vote Despite resistance from some members, a vote pushed the motion through: 12 supported, 7 opposed, and 6 abstained. The applicants argued this bypassed Clause 13.6, which demands a prescribed process of notice, consultation with provincial structures, and a strict majority approval at a National Workers Council meeting.

Justice Chitapi Drops the Hammer

The High Court did not hold back, throwing out the defendants' paperwork on a technicality before thoroughly dismantling the legitimacy of their May 3 elections.

An Invalid Affidavit Before even ruling on the constitution, Justice Chitapi struck the respondents' opposing papers from the record. He found that an affidavit sworn by Dr Chiangwa was improperly commissioned, as the date had been inserted by the deponent rather than endorsed contemporaneously by the Commissioner of Oaths, rendering the case effectively unopposed.

Banned from Contesting Justice Chitapi declared the February age limit resolution unlawful and void. Consequentially, Dr Chiangwa, Reverend Chinyemba, and Dr Nhira—having already exceeded the 65-year constitutional age limit at the time of the disputed election—were explicitly barred by the court from contesting the fresh polls.

Reversing Major Church Decisions The judgment goes beyond leadership. The court ordered that all major actions, decisions, and resolutions taken by the disputed presidium since the May 2025 election be immediately nullified, including highly controversial provincial delimitation exercises.

A Compressed Timetable for the Church

The ruling leaves the AFM with an incredibly tight timeline to rebuild its administration while Dr Chiangwa's camp downplays the severity of the judgment.

Establishing Temporary Leadership:

The Interim Committee To ensure the church continues functioning, Justice Chitapi ordered the formation of an interim committee of five former overseers within 48 hours. This body will handle administration and election preparations but is strictly forbidden from making policy decisions. Dr Nhira was directed to convene the Apostolic Council to facilitate this.

Chiangwa's Defiant Response Dr Chiangwa acknowledged the ruling but heavily disputed that the church breached its constitution. “The correct position is that the matter fell on a default judgment owing to a technicality with the court papers,” he stated, confirming the church is pursuing further legal remedies.

A DIVIDED HOUSE: The current legal challenge has deep roots in AFM's internal history, echoing the massive 2018 split that centered on disputes over the church’s original, unamended constitution.

Frequently Asked Questions

The court ruled the National Apostolic Council acted unlawfully by increasing the constitutional candidate age limit from 65 to 70 years without following proper amendment procedures, allowing over-age candidates to contest.

Because they had already exceeded the 65-year age limit at the time of the disputed May 2025 election, Reverend Dr Cossam Chiangwa, Reverend Amon Chinyemba, and Dr Nathan Nhira are legally barred from participating in the upcoming fresh polls.

Justice Chitapi ordered that all major actions, decisions, and resolutions—including controversial provincial delimitations—taken by the disputed presidium since May 3, 2025, are nullified and void.

OFFICIAL EDITORIAL VERDICT

When the Pulpit Meets the Bench

The sensational nullification of the AFM presidium by the High Court serves as a stark, unavoidable reminder that religious institutions are not above the rule of law. When internal bodies attempt to bypass their own constitutional provisions—specifically to manipulate age limits and favor incumbents—they erode the very foundational trust required to govern a congregation.

Dr Chiangwa’s insistence that this was merely a "technicality" regarding improperly commissioned affidavits ignores the broader legal reality: the court still fundamentally dismantled the legitimacy of the 70-year age limit alteration. For the Apostolic Faith Mission, the immediate challenge is no longer defending the legitimacy of the tainted 2025 election. It is navigating an incredibly compressed 30-day timetable to ensure the next leadership contest is conducted strictly within the constitutional framework reaffirmed by Justice Chitapi.

@ Sona Headlines | News & Investigations Desk

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