Crowds alert: Cops gear up for IPHC thousands in Pretoria CBD as succession court case resumes
Pretoria - The Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD) has warned Pretoria residents to expect crowds of International Pentecost Holiness Church (IPHC) who will be gathering around the High Court in Pretoria as the long-running succession case resumes on Monday.
In an advisory, TMPD spokesperson Senior Superintendent Isaac Mahamba said there would be a picket outside the superior court along Madiba Street.
“Take note that there will be a picket at Pretoria High Court, along Madiba Street in Pretoria, on Monday, February 13 at 8am by International Pentecost Holiness Church.
The purpose (of the gathering by the IPHC members) is to attend the leadership succession case,” said Mahamba.
“They are expected to disperse from the Pretoria High Court when the court adjourns,” he added.
A media advisory issued by the IPHC Jerusalem faction led by “Successor” Michael Sandlana said thousands of members would converge in Pretoria, and the matter had been set down for a few weeks.
“The much-awaited court case, aimed at settling the leadership contest of one of South Africa’s biggest churches, the International Pentecost Holiness Church, is set to resume before the North Gauteng Division of the High Court, situated in Pretoria,” said Priest Vusi Ndala, spokesperson for the IPHC Jerusalem.
Ndala said in the lead-up to the high-stakes court case, there had been “narrow-minded attacks” aimed at the court and the presiding judge.
“Despite the narrow-minded attempts by some factions of the church to cast aspersions on the esteemed court, and by extension the justice system of South Africa, the IPHC congregating at Jerusalem, under the leadership of His Grace, Successor MG Sandlana warmly welcomes and embraces the resumption of the succession matter, as a bold and definitive step towards closure in the long-running, unfortunate case,” he said.
“At this juncture, the IPHC congregating at Jerusalem welcomes the opportunity for all parties to ventilate, and substantiate with merit, the relevant information pertinent to the matter before the presiding honourable judge assigned to the case.
“On record already, dangerous, libellous allegations and insults have been levelled against the judiciary ahead of the trial.”
Ndala said the IPHC Jerusalem would be bringing thousands of members to picket outside the court “to make a bold statement”.
“Given the circumstances, the IPHC congregating at Jerusalem will be making a bold statement in defence of South Africa’s hard-fought freedoms, the Constitution, the besieged judiciary and the rule of law through a peaceful march on Monday, to the doors of the North Gauteng Division of the High Court, as the marathon trial scheduled to run for weeks starts,” he said.
“Permission has been duly sought from the relevant authorities in Tshwane for a peaceful picket.”
The well-known church, which boasts a three-million strong membership in South Africa and neighbouring countries, has been engulfed in a bitter three-way conflict to succeed Glayton Modise, who had inherited it from his father and founder Frederick Samuel Modise in 1998.
Bishop Glayton Modise died in February 2016, leaving behind an estate worth almost R400 million. He allegedly died without a valid will and a clear succession plan for the popular church, throwing the congregation and his family into a legal tussle.
There are three main contenders to take over the reins of the church – Glayton Modise’s two sons Frederick Leonard Goitsemang and Tshepiso, and Michael Sandlana – reportedly Glayton Modise’s son out of wedlock.
Leonard Modise leads the IPHC group based in Zuurbekom, while Sandlana leads the Pretoria faction, and Tshepiso runs the third splinter group.
According to media reports, Sandlana leads about 90% of the church branches and has the support of most IPHC priests on the church council.
IOL