Windhoek, Namibia - EMBATTLED Catholic priest Father Gert Petrus was yesterday ordered by the Windhoek High Court to vacate the house he is occupying at the St Mary's Help of Christians church in Khomasdal.
In an interim order granted in favour of the Roman Catholic Church by Acting Judge John Manyarara, Petrus is also prohibited from conducting any public worship services until the matter is heard before court on July 18.
In terms of the order, Petrus will be deemed "excommunicated" from the church during this time.
The archdiocese approached the court for the first time yesterday, after it had tried since October to remove Petrus from the parish he has served since 1993.
The church was locked at the order of Archbishop Liborius Nashenda at the end of October "to avoid violence, scandal and damage to property".
Many parishioners viewed the move as trying to force Petrus from the premises.
Petrus, who was represented by Albert Strydom acting on instruction from Hennie Barnard and Partners, turned down an offer to be housed at church premises in Klein Windhoek.
He said he would rather seek his own accommodation.
He has until June 15 to do so.
In terms of the interim order, Petrus has until June 15 to respond to the motion filed by Lorentz and Bone for the Roman Catholic Church, pushing for his dismissal and accusing him of alleged drunkenness and practising witchcraft.
In turn, the church will have to respond to the answering affidavit by July 4.
When the parties return to court, they are expected to argue why the interim order should not be made final.
On Monday, two teachers from the church pre-primary school, a man and his teenage daughter, appeared in the Katutura Magistrate's Court on charges of assaulting a parishioner during a standoff between Petrus supporters and detractors at the church premises in January.
After the Police were called in to stem a heated verbal exchange between the two groups, the fight turned physical and the woman was punched in the face and kicked in the abdomen.
The case was postponed until October.
Parishioners who turned up at the High Court yesterday to support Petrus were not happy that the priest will have to leave the church premises while the court battle is on.
They vowed to request the Vatican's intervention in the matter.
Archbishop Nashenda is in Germany and is expected to visit the Vatican during a month-long trip to present the five-yearly report on the state of the diocese in Namibia to the new Pope.
No representative of the diocese attended yesterday's court proceedings.
Lawyers for the church first served Petrus with an eviction order late last year, after he refused to heed instructions from the Archbishop to leave.
Petrus did not heed the eviction order and still contends that the correct procedures for dismissing a priest in terms of canon law had not been followed.
With Petrus no longer permitted to conduct liturgy services in accordance with the interim order, parishioners, many of whom are pensioners with no means of travel, will once again have to find an alternative.
Many parishioners were dissatisfied with the Archbishop's decision when he locked the Khomasdal church that they should travel to other churches for worship during Advent.
With the church still locked as Easter drew nearer, Petrus agreed to conduct liturgy services at their request in the church hall.
In an affidavit in support of the church's motion, Nashenda explains at length the actions he took to remove Petrus from the parish after complaints of alleged drunkenness reached his office a year ago and later that Petrus was allegedly involved in a ritual to banish a tokoloshe (demon) from his house.
Chief Inspector Ruben Hanghome, Station Commander of the Katutura Police Station, confirms in another affidavit that he was called to the church premises by a parish council member and one of the pre-school teachers to bear witness to the "burning" of the tokoloshe.
Another parishioner alleges in documents submitted to the court that Petrus was too intoxicated to properly perform his duties at his daughter's wedding ceremony in December of 2003.