The department of home affairs is investigating International Pentecostal Holiness Church (IPHC) Jerusalema faction leader Mike Sandlana after it emerged that he possesses three different identity documents.
Sandlana appeared in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Wednesday to apply for bail, and the state told the court that the department of home affairs suspects fraudulent activity may have occurred for him to obtain multiple ID numbers.
The state is opposing his release on bail and has presented an affidavit by the investigating officer, Lt-Col Ludi Rolf Schnelle.
Sandlana and his spokesperson, Vusi Ndala, were arrested in November together with Pretoria high court judge Portia Phahlane, who presided over the controversial legal battle for control of the church, and her son Kagiso.
He allegedly offered bribes to Phahlane in exchange for delivering a favourable judgment in a succession dispute involving him and the two Modise brothers, Leonard and Tshepiso.
Schnelle said his investigations have determined that he has three identity numbers — one that indicates he was born on 1961/02/15, another on 1966/02/15, and a third with a birth date of 1969/02/28.
He said Sandlana is registered as a South African citizen, and the process of him obtaining citizenship is being investigated by home affairs.
Schnelle indicated that he has a document from the Odi Correctional Centre from when Sandlana was arrested and detained for pointing an unlicensed firearm at his then wife, Miriam Mahlangu. The matter was withdrawn by the applicant’s wife, and the firearm was never recovered.
He said when he was detained, he provided his ethnic group as Swati, and this is being investigated by the department of home affairs.
Further, Schnelle said he has obtained records from home affairs, an extract from the birth register showing that a late registration of birth was made for Sandlana in 1980.
“The birth register reflects that the applicant was born in Flink Zyn Drift located in Moretele, North West province. The birth register reflects that the applicant was born on 29 February 1969.”
He said his investigations established that the date did not exist, as February 29 1969 was not a leap year and that February 1969 ended on the 28th.
In his bail application, Sandlana had clarified that he had been issued with an ID document where the birth year was incorrectly captured by the department of home affairs, errors he said he later rectified.
He explained that he had first applied for his first ID at home affairs with the help of his grandparents, and it was issued bearing his full names — Bhekumzi Mike Gilbert Sandlana.
The investigating officer said his inspection of Sandlana’s parents revealed his mother as Jane Ntswane and father as Wilson Sandlana. Further information also revealed that his mother was born in 1916 and his father in 1908.
However, he said an interview with his wife, Benedicta Sandlana, revealed his mother as Sylvia Sandlana.
Schnelle said he later realised that Jane and Wilson were his grandparents.
After tracing Sandlana’s mother in Moretele, he noted that the age difference between her and Sandlana would mean that she was nine years and three months when she gave birth to him.
It has been established that Sandlana has two firearm licences for a 9mm pistol and a Saiga rifle.
The investigating officer argued that if released on bail, Sandlana would allege that the state is involving itself in the factional battle of the IPHC and that the state is supporting the Leonard Modise faction.
The applicant places a huge amount of pressure and fear on the legal representatives that support him in the IPHC and in all his civil matters, forcing them to commit crimes for him.
— Lt-Col Ludi Rolf Schnelle, investigating officer
“This would lead to attacks between the factions. The state is not supporting any specific faction and is solely investigating the crimes of corruption and money laundering committed by the accused in this matter.”
He argued there is clear evidence that Sandlana has intimidated witnesses.
“The applicant places a huge amount of pressure and fear on the legal representatives that support him in the IPHC and in all his civil matters, forcing them to commit crimes for him. The applicant shares with them under privilege that he is responsible for hiring assassins to murder any of his adversaries or people that he claims are informers for the Modise faction. ”
Schnelle said Sandlana has previously been arrested, charged and convicted in numerous cases and clearly has a history of violence and being unlawfully in possession of fire arm without a licence.
He said it is evident from his conduct that there is a likelihood that he will commit other offences if released on bail.
According Schnelle, Sandlana has travelled to Lesotho without the use of passport and has an arrangement that allows him free passage at the Lesotho and Mozambique borders.
According to Schnelle, evidence will be presented in trial that Sandlana met with Phahlane and others on numerous occasions before the factional battle case was allocated to her.
Also, it will be presented that financial benefits in excess of R2m were made to Phahlane from Sandlana during the last quarter of 2021 and during 2022, clearly indicating that he had committed the crimes while on bail in the Pretoria magistrates court matter.
He added that a senior public prosecutor was intimidated to such an extent by Sandlana’s followers and supporters that she resigned with immediate effect.
Schnelle argued that Sandlana has hundreds of thousands of followers in his Jerusalema faction of the IPHC that he can very easily influence them to intimidate witnesses in this matter.
“The applicants’ use of his followers to threaten and intimidate is clearly evident at every court attendance ... Thousands of his followers are mobilised to toyi-toyi in the streets around the court. The protection of witnesses in this instance would be virtually impossible,” Schnelle said.
The matter has been postponed to December 15 for continuation of the bail application.
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