The Pretoria high court judge in the International Pentecostal Holiness Church succession matter, Portia Phahlane, says she is being falsely targeted for her role in presiding over the long-running feud between factions in the wealthy church.
Phahlane, her son Kagiso, the leader of one of the IPHC groups, Bhekumzi Michael Sandlana, and his faction’s spokesperson Vusi Soli Ndala, appeared before the Pretoria serious commercial crimes court on Wednesday on charges of corruption and money laundering.
The matter relates to the succession battle at the IPHC.
The four accused are collectively facing 19 counts of corruption. It is alleged that between 2021 and 2022, Ndala and Sandlana made payments of about R2.4m on different occasions to various bank accounts, to and for the benefit of judge Phahlane, for her to preside over Sandlana’s ongoing civil case at the high court and ultimately rule in his favour.
On Wednesday, the court heard bail applications from Phahlane, her son and Ndala in the form of an affidavit.
While applying for bail, Phahlane through her lawyer Adv Piet du Plessis told the court that she considers the charges against her to be a personal vendetta conducted by parties who were involved in a civil dispute with each other in the succession battle.
She said upon her arrest she wasn’t informed of any details of the charges against her.
According to her, upon her arrest she was only presented with the J50 warrant issued on November 18 alleging that the charge is corruption committed “on or about June 21 2022”.
She said during the course of the IPHC trial, she was personally targeted with allegations of corruption and an application for her recusal, which she had refused.
“This led to various threats against my life as a result of which I laid formal complaints with the South African Police Services. I subsequently supplemented the statements in that docket adding charges of inter alia intimidation and crimen injuria against various parties including legal practitioners who were involved in the matter referred to above of the IPHC.
“I also caused summons to be issued against various parties involved in the said matter under the High Court of South Africa, Gauteng Division, Pretoria, in which I claim a substantial amount from the parties involved. I therefore state that I have not made myself guilty of any criminal conduct and that the allegations against me are probably fuelled and motivated by parties who have ulterior motives for doing so,” she said.
Phahlane was granted bail of R50,000, while her son and Ndala were granted bail of R10,000 each.
I therefore state that I have not made myself guilty of any criminal conduct and that the allegations against me are probably fuelled and motivated by parties who have ulterior motives for doing so.
— Portia Phahlane, judge
They have been ordered to hand in their passports and are prohibited from applying for any travel documents. They are not allowed to interfere with investigations or intimidate witnesses. Phahlane has also been barred from entering two buildings of the high court.
Their case was postponed to March 6.
Sandlana’s bail application, which was opposed by the prosecution, has been postponed to December 3.
In asking for the postponement, state prosecutor Willem van Zyl told the court that Sandlana had tried to evade arrest and that during the arrest, his supporters and bodyguards assaulted police officials. One official was disarmed of his gun.
The firearm was later retrieved but he described the assault as serious.
He said two of the officials were hospitalised and they still need to depose affidavits for the investigation.
He said Sandlana also had a fraud case which is still before court and a civil matter. There is a possibility of another criminal matter being added.
His lawyer Ivan Montjane accused the state of not being fair and of being selective. He said there was no evidence that Sandlana had participated in the assault. In fact, he said, he was on his way from Brits to the church at the time.
The church has been embroiled in a leadership feud since the death of its former leader, Bishop Glayton Modise, in 2016. He had inherited the top seat from his late father and founder of the church, Frederick Samuel Modise.
The battle for the new leader led to conflict between the Modise brothers, Tshepiso and Leonard, which created factions and warring within the church, and Sandlana’s faction.
The Jerusalema faction is led by Sandlana, the Leonard Modise faction is at the church’s headquarters in Zuurbekom while the Tshepiso Modise faction is based on the East Rand.
Tshepiso had brought an application in which he sought an order interdicting members of the IPHC from preventing him taking up his seat. He claimed that he was the comforter [leader] of the IPHC but was prevented from taking his seat.
In 2023, the brothers reunited and withdrew from the succession dispute. The Sandlana faction held a press briefing where they declared themselves the leaders of the Zuurbekom headquarters on the basis of the brothers’ withdrawal.
Sandlanga’s estranged wife laid a fraud complaint against him in 2021. Magalane Benedicta Sandlana, 29, said she discovered that a death certificate had been issued in her name so that he could be the executor of her estate.
Judges Matter, the civil society organisation that monitors the judiciary in South Africa, has called on Phahlane to step down from her judicial duties and for the Judicial Service Commission to appoint a tribunal to probe the matter, while simultaneously advising President Cyril Ramaphosa to immediately suspend the judge due to the seriousness of the charges she is facing.
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