Clergyman Michael Sandlana — a central figure in the bloody succession battle at the International Pentecost Holiness Church — has laid claim to the altar, saying his leadership was revealed to the high priests.
This after shootings at the church's headquarters in Zuurbekom, Gauteng, last weekend left five people dead and scores injured, the latest instalment in an unholy battle for power that has raged since 2016.
Sandlana said his succession was ordained by God and the church's late leader, Glayton Modise. His ascension has been challenged by two of Modise's sons.
This spawned a conflict, with each party accusing the other of orchestrating attacks in their battle for control of the church's estimated 3-million members. Each faction claims to have the most members in a church known for its mass weddings.
Sandlana's spokesperson, Vusi Ndala, said the pastor had fulfilled key prophecies that had been outlined by Modise, who was called “the Comforter” by his followers.
“Before our Comforter died, he told elders what to look for when the new church leader was chosen. Comforter Sandlana ticked all those boxes,” Ndala said.
Sandlana, he said, was then chosen by 480 priests of the church as the leader and was to have been appointed in November 2018. But Ndala said that on the eve of the glitzy induction ceremony, armed men stormed the church compound and took control, casting Sandlana out.
Ndala accused Leonard Modise, who has assumed control of the church's headquarters on Johannesburg's West Rand. The Zuurbekom branch, named Silo [meaning place of peace], is the crown jewel of the church. Its 10ha compound has lavish houses, a grand church and a banquet hall — and was where the violence erupted last weekend.
Forty-one people, among them police officers and soldiers, were arrested after the attack and appeared in the Westonaria magistrate's court this week.
Estimated number of congregants in the divided International Pentecost Holiness Church
— 3M
Back at the church compound, security guards patrolled and peacocks and horses roamed the grounds.
Leonard Modise's sibling, Tshepiso Modise, opened a branch of the church in Springs and Sandlana was relegated to the outskirts of Pretoria, where he started his own chapter, the Jerusalem branch.
When Glayton Modise, father of Leonard and Tshepiso, died, the church split into three branches, with each leader claiming to have been ordained by the elder Modise.
Leonard Modise referred questions to the chair of the Zuurbekom branch's executive council, Abiel Wessie, who said that Leonard was “the chosen one”.
“We saw traits in him that went well with what their Comforter should be like,” said Wessie.
Number of people killed when rival factions clashed last weekend
— 5
He said Leonard had taken charge of the pulpit to bring stability to the church that his grandfather, Frederick Modise, had founded and which Sandlana had tried to hijack, although he had no link to the Modise family.
Tshepiso Modise declined to comment, saying he would speak when the time was right.
As the power struggle raged, the church members have been caught in the middle of the conflict.
A congregant who remains a member of the Zuurbekom branch and who did not want to be named said she would never set foot back in the “holy place” after last weekend's massacre.
“It was never about which leader to follow, but rather about being loyal to where 'the Comforter' left us. I felt I would connect better with him here,” she said.
“We call the church 'Silo' but where is the peace in all that happened last week? This was not the first incident ... what happened last week just showed me that we are not safe worshipping there.”
Her husband said God had protected “his children” by ensuring that only members of a rival faction, which allegedly had stormed the compound last weekend, had been killed.
“Those people were killed but our Comforter protected his children,” he said.
Another church member said the Modise bloodline should remain intact.
“This is a Modise church. There is no way that we could be led by someone other than a Modise,” he said.
Maria Frahm-Arp, professor of religious studies at the University of Johannesburg, said succession battles that turned violent were common in new churches.
“Conflicts like this are very common. In well-established denominations there is a succession framework, but in independent churches, the lines are blurred.”
She said that money from tithes was often a key driver in battles for control.
Police spokesperson Brig Vish Naidoo said police officers and soldiers who had been at the church at the time of the shooting had not been there in any official capacity.
He did not respond to questions on whether service pistols had been used in the shooting.
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