Johannesburg - The Modise brothers have united to oust Michael Bhekumuzi Sandlana, whom they say is an imposter attempting to steal their father’s church and estate.
Bishop Leonard Modise, who is the head of the 3-million-strong International Pentecostal Holiness Church (IPHC) and his brother Tshepiso Modise have unified against the controversial leader of the IPHC Jerusalem faction, calling for him to get a public DNA test to prove that he is in fact their father’s long-lost son.
Since MG Modise’s passing in 2016, the church has been involved in a succession debacle, with Sandlana claiming to be the legitimate successor. Sandlana’s light has been cut off by the two brothers uniting against him.
Sandlana is currently embroiled in two court cases at Pretoria Magistrate’s Court and Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court.
Early this year, The Star reported that Sandlana was being investigated by the SAPS for having two different IDs and having fraudulently diverted the ownership of two of the church's buses and other properties away from the family.
Also, Sandlana's estranged wife, Benedicta Sandlana, opened a case of fraud against him after she discovered that a death certificate had been issued in her name and that the ownership of her car had been changed from her to Sandlana’s name without her consent.
The leaders of the church, including Exco chairperson Abiel Wessie, have denounced the claims made by Sandlana following a media briefing held at the church's headquarters in Zuuberkom on Saturday.
“We have said to him, ‘Do the DNA tests so that we can claim your share of the inheritance.’ Then he completely refused to do the tests, but then he insisted that he was his son. The court could not compel him to do the tests. But to our dismay, he is illegally benefiting from the estate. He forcefully took the buses and changed the buses ownership,” Wessie said.
“The elders of the church, who were not in agreement, approached their lawyers and demanded he show them the will. The lawyer said there was no will written. We took the letter and showed it to the judges. By law, if I know that there is a will and I am an heir in that will, I have a duty to provide details; hence, Tshepiso Modise, on behalf of the family, did just that and approached the master of the high court, where he said to the master, please ask him (Sandlana) to produce the will. The master said to him, in seven days, please produce the will," he said.
Wessie said the incident of July 11, 2020, where the church was attacked, resulting in the deaths of five people, continues to haunt the church.
He said the church had suffered and continues to suffer the effects of the attack.
“We even feel that we may lose others. If this matter is not resolved and if the cases against Sandlana are not dealt with. Let me tell you about the 2020 attack: they came here and attacked us. He (Sandlana) went and opened the case in Pretoria, Brooklyn, claiming that they were hijacked and were brought to the Silo to be killed here.
"The issue of the attack, which was all over the news, affected the church immensely due to the bad publicity. You will recall that lives were lost there. That matter is still sub judice. This has resulted in the two brothers to decide to speak in one voice. As to who is the rightful heir, that is a matter between the two brothers, and their rights are reserved in this matter,“ he said.
Attempts to get comments from Sandlana were unsuccessful at the time of going to print, as calls to Sandlana's spokesperson rang unanswered.
The Star