The leader of the International Pentecost Holiness Church’s (IPHC) Jerusalem faction, Michael Sandlana, is said to be staging a hostile takeover of a Mozambican branch led by his rival, Tshepiso Modise.
The emissary of Sandlana, Armando Muchanga, allegedly fraudulently obtained from the national directorate for religious affairs in Gaza, Mozambique, last year, a certificate which arrogates to them powers to govern the Zona Verde branch, which has for many years been under Modise’s leadership.
Modise, who owns the church’s intellectual property, has already invested millions of rands renovating the branch and constructing more structures in its yard.
News of Sandlana’s alleged impugned takeover came to light after he and Muchanga took Modise and his representative, Salvador Jose Jaconius, to the Judicial Court of Infulene, where they asked for a court order to stop them from proclaiming themselves as the leaders of the branch. The matter will be heard this coming Tuesday.
In his responding papers, Modise said Muchanga, at the behest of Sandlana, obtained the certificate fraudulently.
“In the case at hand, we are dealing with two citizens, one of whom is South African (Sandlana), who forcibly took over one of the parishes of the IPHC church in South Africa (Jerusalem) and from there convinced some of our brothers and sisters to start attending that parish and calling himself a bishop, in an attitude of total bad faith, without any bond, nor recognition by the general directorate of the church, nor by the national directorate of religious affairs. To prove this, the defendants request that the national directorate for religious affairs be notified.
“With regard to co-applicant Muchanga, the defendants have to say that he is a national citizen who, through fraudulent means, managed to obtain a certificate from the church, where he appears as ‘general coordinator of ethics and discipline’, and comes to court claiming to be the ‘presiding pastor’ of the church.
“As we can see, it is on the basis of a fraudulent certificate that Mr Muchanga is trying, in vain, to support his alleged right, a fact that the defendants believe this court will not fail to assess as it is serious and shows an attitude of total bad faith,” read the papers.
Modise said the church board learnt of the existence of the fraudulent certificate and reported it to the national directorate for religious affairs, which described it as a criminal act.
The war in the IPHC has been brewing for a while and led to division after Sandlana, who was charged with fraud for allegedly forging the death certificate of his ex-wife to claim an insurance payout, claimed he was the firstborn of the late church leader, Gayton Modise. But when he was challenged to undergo the paternity tests, he refused. Jaconius confirmed that they have lined up a team of lawyers to face off with Sandlana’s on Tuesday and was optimistic that they will emerge victorious.
Sandlana’s spokesperson Vusi Ndala confirmed that they will go toe to toe with Modise in court. “He has relinquished his position as the leader of the church, so he must get out of Zona Verde. As we speak, he is in contempt of court, and that matter is pending in South African courts,” he said.
