The arrest of High Court Judge Portia Phahlane has sent ripples through South Africa, exposing a web of alleged corruption linked to a bitter succession dispute within the International Pentecostal Holiness Church (IPHC). The case has ignited a storm of controversy, raising serious questions about judicial integrity and the influence of money in the country's legal system.
Phahlane, along with IPHC leader Mike Sandlana, his spokesperson Vusi Ndala, and her son Kagiso, appeared in court this week on charges related to bribery and corruption. The charges stem from Sandlana's alleged attempts to sway judgment in the long-standing leadership feud within the IPHC, one of South Africa's largest religious organisations.
The IPHC has been embroiled in a protracted power struggle since the death of its head, Glayton Modise, in 2016. The succession battle pits Modise's two sons – Leonard, who leads the Silo faction in Zuurbekom, and Tshepiso, who heads the Springs branch – against Sandlana, whose Jerusalema faction is based in Brits. This division has fractured the church's millions of congregants and sparked numerous court cases over control of its vast assets and influence.
Adding a shocking twist to the saga, claims have emerged that Phahlane received her first bribe seven months before she was even assigned the IPHC succession case. This revelation has prompted inquiries into how Phahlane – and Sandlana – knew she would be allocated the case.
Phahlane stated in her judgment on an application for her recusal during the IPHC succession litigation that the case had been assigned to her by “the deputy judge president of this division”, Aubrey Ledwaba. However, sources within the Gauteng division suggest that court administrators can also be involved in allocating cases to judges, potentially without the deputy judge president's knowledge. The exact circumstances of how the case ended up with Phahlane remain unclear.
The Zuurbekom faction of the IPHC has welcomed the arrests as vindication of their efforts to prove Phahlane’s alleged bias. "She was so rude to our people. We felt that she was biased towards us," said Abiel Wessie, spokesperson for the Zuurbekom faction. "Her attitude in court towards our two legal teams, and towards Sandlana’s team, she was very nice to their team. And very arrogant to our teams. When this came out, it rubbed us down to the suspicion that we had."
Wessie further stated that Phahlane had imposed a punitive order on them. "The order on the withdrawal of the succession left us with punitive costs, including the cost of the three counsels. The cost went up to approximately R10m," said Wessie.
The charge sheet against Phahlane details how she was allegedly approached by Sandlana. This account is supported by an affidavit from Tshepo Desmond Phuthi, Sandlana’s former right-hand man, who claims he coordinated the illicit relationship. Phuthi's affidavit outlines how Phahlane visited the church in April 2021 with a woman named "Morongoa". The charge sheet identifies Morongwa Malope as a court interpreter and IPHC member who allegedly introduced the judge to Sandlana.
Phuthi, who worked at the Songo Group of companies as head of logistics, security, and financial transfers, exposed a trail of payments for VIP security allegedly provided for Phahlane during the court case, as well as a R2m cash transfer. He alleges that Sandlana used Songo to finance his personal interests and legal battles, using it as a financial proxy to facilitate "judicial corruption through layered, disguised decoy payments".
As part of his application to have Phahlane recused from presiding in the consolidated succession trial, Leonard submitted an affidavit by former church insider Adv Goodwill Papie Maluleke in August 2022 to demonstrate the trail of misconduct and impropriety by Sandlana.
In the affidavit, the advocate, who had become Sandlana’s close confidante, said he was lured into the Sandlana’s breakaway plan when he [Sandlana] made claims that he was the son of the late leader and helped mobilise congregants to join the church.
“Several members of the church and I were deceived by such claims and proclaimed Sandlana the new spiritual leader of the church. So convinced was I by Sandlana’s deceit that I announced to the wider membership of the church the existence of the will, in his possession, which turned out to be untrue.
“My actions earned me what appeared to be the goodwill of Sandlana, who both appointed me as a priest of the IPHC as well as a member of the council. I was his close confidant,” read the affidavit.
Maluleke described being drawn into Sandlana's agenda, including intervening in a maintenance dispute against him and a foiled coup of the Zuurbekom church in July 2020. "After the incident, he opened a case of kidnapping at the Brooklyn police station. This made me question whether he was indeed a man of God or a con man. He knew that he was lying under oath; there were no church members who were kidnapped. This was solely to deceive the wider membership of his church into believing that he was justified to invade Silo [Zuurbekom church]."
Maluleke said Sandlana became suspicious that there was an informant in his circle and he began distancing himself from the church. He then received information from his friends in the church that Sandlana allegedly, suspecting he was the leak, had hired nkabi [hitman] to kill him.
Maluleke was also privy to information and payments allegedly made to the judge presiding over the matter.
In good faith, he then wrote an anonymous letter addressed to various offices, reporting the relationship between the judge and Sandlana, which undermined her judicial integrity.
Wessie said when the rescusal application failed, the church approached the Hawks to investigate the matter.
In a statement, the Jerusalema faction has defended Sandlana’s leadership, denouncing the allegations as unsubstantiated and part of a malicious campaign against him. "We stand with him during this challenging time, and we call on every member of the IPHC to do the same. Let us surround him with a fortress of strength and determination. We view this arrest not as an isolated law enforcement action, but as a clear escalation of the external pressures and malicious campaigns that have been orchestrated against the legitimate leadership of the IPHC.” The church has urged its members to refrain from any unlawful actions.
Phahlane has been granted bail of R50,000, while her son Kagiso and Ndala were granted bail of R10,000 each. Sandlana’s bail application has been postponed.
Ledwaba presided over the controversial bail application of cartel kingpin Katiso Molefe.
The case continues to unfold, promising further revelations and potentially far-reaching consequences for the IPHC and the South African judiciary.
Follow Us on Twitter
