The raging unholy war in the Anglican Church of South Africa is not letting up as senior priests and church members have accused a high-ranking bishop of financial maladministration and sexual impropriety since he took office nine years ago.
In a memorandum of demands dated October 25, and addressed to Anglican Church archbishop Thabo Makgoba and other senior church leaders, the senior priests accused the bishop of embezzling church funds and having “inappropriate” relationships with their wives and/or ex-wives by going to their homes and leaving at night.
The senior priests demanded that the church should place the bishop and members of his diocese implicated in his alleged misconduct on special leave immediately to allow for an investigation.
They also demanded that there should be no victimisation of members of the clergy and laity (ordinary members) of the diocese to allow for a fair investigation process.
Another demand was that the affidavits from the newly ordained priests should be declared null and void as they were written without proper consultation and understanding.
The bishop implicated in the allegations did not respond to requests for comment.
In a letter addressed to Makgoba by Reverend Sanele Nhlapo last month, he alleged that the bishop visited his home to see his ex-wife after their official divorce. Nhlapo accused the bishop of having an inappropriate relationship with his ex-wife.
“I also take a moment to revert to a point that I raised earlier, that the bishop inappropriately befriends our wives and/or ex-wives. He continues to go to my house where my [ex-]wife and children live. This I find very inappropriate and unpriestly. I have every belief that [the] bishop colluded with some members of the parish and my ex-wife to get rid of me or to try and paint me in a way that I am guilty of something.
“I need to state that, while I was married to my ex-wife and had a house in Pretoria, the bishop not once visited my house, and not once supported me even when I told him what I was going through with my wife. But when I subsequently moved out of the house, he has gone to see my ex-wife and sometimes, he would go there and leave at night.
“I found out from my seven-year-old daughter that when the bishop came to visit, she was asked to go and stay in the bedroom. It gave me great concern and upon my investigation, I discovered that it was true,” said Nhlapo in the letter to Makgoba.
This week the bishop issued Nhlapo with a letter notifying him that he is suspended with immediate effect for a period of 18 months for alleged “oppressive behaviour”, “bullying”, and “threats” towards church members.
The allegations of embezzlement of church funds against the bishop stem from the sale of one of the church’s houses in Secunda to rebuild the St Joseph parish church building. The sale of the house amounted to R798 000. However, it is alleged that when the diocese members requested the funds to start the rebuilding process, the bishop did not give it to them.
“When the house was sold, the money amounted to R798 000 and was transferred to the diocesan bank account, and to date, we have not received that money. I made a request for the money, seeing that we had signed a contract with the contractor for the rebuilding of the church. The diocese has kept that money back, yet I have been requesting that money for a long time now, without any explanation.
“It is now our suspicion that the money has been embezzled,” said Nhlapo in the letter.
Nhlapo also alleged that the bishop stole around R5-million from a charity organisation and allegedly used the money to purchase private land or a farm for himself or in his name in Brakpan.
It is alleged that the bishop is taking the money that the parishes have invested with the diocese to have this theft covered up or paid off. When contacted for comment on Friday, Makgoba said he had not received the memorandum of demands and will wait to receive it before applying his mind on it. When asked about Nhlapo’s letter, Makgoba said his office received the letter and “the church processes have kicked in” and that they are still attending to it.
However, in a response letter Makgoba sent to Nhlapo on October 17, 2024, he acknowledged receiving the letter and said he had “not convened any investigative team, nor have I initiated an investigation into this matter. Respectfully, this remains a diocesan issue and should be addressed through diocesan structures.”
