Verryn was suspended from his church duties last month and faced disciplinary charges for breaching the Methodist Church of Southern Africa’s rules.
The Central Methodist Church provides refuge to more than 3000 refugees and homeless people, mostly from Zimbabwe. But it has been criticised for overcrowding and unhealthy living conditions, which spill into the streets of central Johannesburg.
Verryn faces two charges. Firstly, that he initiated court action to have a curator appointed to ensure the best interests of parentless children living in the church without authority. The second charge related to Verryn’s talking to the media after he was instructed not to.
But Verryn’s lawyers, the Legal Resources Centre (LRC), said he denied the charges and that at the root of the disciplinary process was a dispute with Presiding Bishop Ivan Abrahams.
The LRC has been cagey on what the “dispute” involves. But on Friday it said the arbitration would consider “Verryn’s request that the decisions to charge and to suspend him be reviewed and set aside”. This implies that Verryn could argue there was a flaw in the way the decision to charge him was taken.
The LRC also cited the church’s regional district discipline registrar, Jeff Matthee, as being involved in the dispute.
In terms of church procedure, Matthee would have made a preliminary decision on whether the complaint “deserved a charge”.
Matthee is a partner at the law firm Malherbe Rigg & Ranwell. His associate, Bongani Khoza, has been responding to media queries but would not comment.
rabkinf@bdfm.co.za
