By A Correspondent- A church meeting was disrupted last week after an angry daughter of the late Guta Ramwari founder allegedly burst into a meeting which her brother had convened and accused him of squandering church offerings before her brother retaliated by attacking her with a chair. 

In a fit of rage Joseph Tayali’s sister Sarah reportedly went a gear up with her demands as she threatened to shoot her brother if he did not surrender the money to her.

A church elder had to step in and stop the fight. Joseph reported the matter to the police leading to the arrest of his sister.

Sarah appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Stephen Ndhlovu facing a charge of threats to commit murder as defined in section 186(1) as read  with section 47 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform )Act (Chapter 9:23).

Due to lack of evidence she was found not guilty.

In arriving at his ruling the magistrate said:

“ There is lack of evidence and the evidence of the witnesses did not corroborate. He also noted that Sarah threatened to shoot and not to kill or murder the complainant.”

Prosecutor Nokuthula Chitsungo said Sarah stormed into the meeting and asked her brother to use a public address system but her brother stood his ground saying the meeting was private. Joseph asked her to sit down but she refused, as a result an argument heightened between the pair. In a bid to hit her he allegedly threw a chair at her.

It is said Sarah demanded her share of the church offerings and quarterly allowances while pointing out that she had a right to the share of offerings since the church was founded by her father. 

In her defence, Sarah submitted that they were children of the late Guta RaMwari church founder Taxwell Tayali and were both members of the church’s supreme council.

She stated that Joseph took absolute control of the church after their father’s death and had been embezzling funds and depriving her of monthly and quarterly allowances.

“However, by virtue of her right, accused person attended church meeting and this pissed complainant off who became violent and started shouting at the accused. Complainant even threw a chair at the accused and this resulted in a heated argument between the two,” Sarah stated in her defence outline.

She submitted that Joseph made a false report to the police and fabricated charges to get rid of her.-Statemedia