Judge in the dock over corruption in church dispute

GAUTENG High Court Judge Portia Dipuo Phahlane yesterday appeared in court on allegations she accepted a bribe worth millions of rand in a long-running church leadership dispute.

- ZELDA VENTER

Phahlane was released on R50 000 bail alongside her son, Kagiso Phahlane. Her two co-accused, International Pentecostal Holiness Church (IPHC) leader Michael Sandlana and Vusi Ndala, are expected to later apply for bail.

Phahlane and her co-accused were arrested on Tuesday night by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks). The arrests form part of a major corruption and money-laundering investigation linked to the succession dispute within the IPHC.

The group briefly appeared in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court. Phahlane's arrest relates to allegations that she received payments in exchange for favourable rulings in the IPHC succession battle.

The IPHC, founded by Frederick Modise in the 1960s, became the subject of intense litigation after the death of his son, Glayton Modise, in 2016. Three factions are vying for the position of IPHC "comforter": Modise's sons Tshepiso and Leonard, who are contesting each other, and a third contender, Sandlana, who claims to be Modise's biological son.