ALL hell broke loose at the Khomasdal Catholic Church on Monday evening when the church property became a battleground as parishioners threw punches and swore at each other.
Even Police attempts to halt the fighting failed.
The Police had to be summoned to the scene twice as the situation spiralled out of control.
People from the neighbourhood streamed to St Mary's Help of Christians church as news of the unholy behaviour spread like wildfire.
The drama unfolded after four men arrived at parish priest Father Gert Petrus's house at around 18h00 to ask him to leave the premises; it ended with a teenage girl, her father and two pre-school teachers punching and kicking a woman after a heated verbal exchange just after 21h00.
At one point, the girl's father threatened The Namibian for attempting to take photographs, while warning bystanders: "Ek is van die weermag. Dis hoe ons dinge doen." (I'm from the army. This is how we do things).
The violent outbursts stem from the church being locked more than three months ago, seen as a bid by the diocese to remove the priest.
Since then, divisions have deepened between those who support Petrus's challenge of his alleged unfair suspension and a group that backs the Archbishop's decision to oust him for alleged "inappropriate behaviour".
Shortly after 18h00 on Monday, four men went to the priest's house to ask him to leave and blamed him for the rift within the parish.
They claimed that Archbishop Liborius Nashenda was "te pap" [too weak] to resolve the situation.
In December, Nashenda ordered Petrus, through a lawyer's letter, to leave the property.
He refused.
He says his suspension was not done according to church law.
PRIEST ACCOSTED
A scuffle ensued between the priest and one of the men who attempted to enter the house, and bystanders then stepped in to keep the peace.
Petrus later laid charges of trespassing against them at the Katutura Police Station.
In the meantime, a nasty verbal exchange erupted between a group ostensibly holding a meeting at the nearby pre-school and parishioners who had come to support the priest.
The Station Commander of the Katutura Police Station, Chief Inspector Ruben Hanghome, accompanied by Police officers, later arrived at the scene and ordered the crowd to disperse, permitting only those waiting for Petrus's return to stay.
Hanghome was unsure who called him to the scene, but said he was asked "to monitor a meeting".
When the dust appeared to have settled, Petrus returned from the Police station.
FISTS FLY
Not long afterwards, provocative name-calling between a man and his daughter, who approached the priest's house, and a middle-aged woman, standing in the garden, sparked an appalling display of violence.
The girl stormed through the garden gate and threw a punch at Sabina Diergaardt, who was prevented by others from trading blows after she firmly gripped the girl by the neck.
The girl's mother and a pre-school teacher joined the attack in the priest's front garden, pulling at Diergaardt's hair while the girl's father punched her and kicked her in the ribs.
Diergaardt fell to the ground in front of the priest's feet, who rescued her from their clutches.
The Police were once again called to the scene to stem the mayhem and ordered everyone except those resident on the property to leave.
'ROME, WE HAVE A PROBLEM'
The pre-school teacher, said to be at loggerheads with Petrus over the running of the school, refused flatly to speak to The Namibian yesterday.
"It is obvious from what happened last night, that Father's life is in danger," parishioner Desmond Stramis said yesterday.
Diergaardt said parishioners would convey their concerns to the Vatican if the situation did not improve soon.
After parishioners from both sides sought an audience with Nashenda yesterday morning, the bishop would not say much on the latest developments.
He told The Namibian yesterday afternoon that a crisis committee of priests was still discussing how best to proceed, but said he did not want the community to turn to violence because of the dispute.
Hanghome returned to the church shortly before lunch today to get more details on what had caused the tensions to spiral out of control.
He told them that the problem was essentially between the diocese and Petrus, and that their behaviour was uncalled for.
Hanghome said Police officers would continue to patrol the premises from time to time to ensure that there was no damage to property and that peace prevailed.
"I'm ashamed of all this mess here," said Petrus, reflecting on Monday night's events, "this is not how the Catholic Church should be run."