Vela was embroiled in a bitter feud with Mduduzi Shembe‚ the head of the bigger Ebuhleni faction‚ for control of one of Southern Africa’s most powerful churches.
In October last year‚ the Durban High Court ruled in Vela’s favour but Ebuhleni appealed the judgement. The two warring factions were back in court last month where judgement during the appeal was reserved.
The bitter and sometimes bloody war for control of the charismatic‚ five-million-strong church‚ founded in 1910 by Isaiah Shembe‚ has raged for decades. At the centre of the conflict are assets estimated to be worth more than R100-million.
Vela‚ known as “Imisebe yeLanga” (the sun’s rays)‚ was the late church leader Vimbeni Shembe’s brother while Mduduzi‚ known as “Unyazi lweZulu” (lightning) is Vimbeni’s son. Vimbeni died in 2011.
Early this year‚ the church had to reject rumours that Vela had died following claims on Facebook made by a woman believed to be a member of Mduduzi’s faction.