The applicants, representing churches in the Hwedza district of the Anglican Church for the Province of Central Africa, sought a court order transferring their district from the Manicaland Diocese back to the Harare Diocese. The district had been moved from Harare Diocese to Manicaland Diocese by Synod decision in 1983. The applicants were dissatisfied with resource allocation and service provision under Manicaland Diocese and claimed the church authorities had failed to decide on their petition for transfer despite instruction from the territorial authority for the Central Africa region. Lloyd Goto, styled as "President of the Hwedza District Committee", deposed to the founding affidavit. The applicants were represented by an entity called "Lelimas Legal Aid Society" and neither the applicants nor their representatives appeared at the hearing, though they had filed heads of argument.
The application was dismissed with costs.
Courts will not exercise review jurisdiction over internal ecclesiastical administrative matters where litigants have not exhausted available domestic remedies provided by the church's Constitution, Acts, and cannons, unless good reasons are shown for making an early approach to the courts. A litigant is expected to exhaust domestic remedies before approaching the courts. The church's internal structures and processes are capable of resolving administrative disputes concerning matters such as diocesan transfers, and the courts should not interfere where such remedies have not been pursued.
The court expressed serious doubts about the legal competency of legal aid societies to engage in offering legal services to the public under the Legal Practitioners Act [Chapter 27:07], particularly in light of sections 8 to 12A of the Act. Hungwe J observed that such entities may be a "fertile ground for the ripping off of indigent and ignorant litigants who may approach these in good faith" and indicated the matter would be referred to the Law Society for investigation and clarity on the role of such entities. The court suspected that the papers may have been drawn by someone deregistered from the register of legal practitioners, which would constitute a breach of the Legal Practitioners Act. The court also noted with concern the applicants' conduct in failing to appear at the hearing despite having set the matter down and filed heads of argument.
This case reinforces the principle that courts will not readily interfere in internal ecclesiastical administrative matters where domestic remedies exist and have not been exhausted. It highlights the requirement for litigants to utilize available internal dispute resolution mechanisms before approaching the courts. The judgment also raises important questions about the regulation of legal aid societies and their role in providing legal services, suggesting potential unauthorized practice of law concerns that require investigation by the Law Society. The case demonstrates judicial restraint in matters of church governance and administration where constitutional and canonical processes exist for resolving disputes.