Durban - There was a heavy police presence at the Durban High Court on Wednesday as two opposing factions of the Shembe church arrived carrying an assortment of weapons.
The assortment of menacing weapons wielded by the unhappy factions included hammers, golf clubs, knobkerries, planks, sticks, baseball bats, hockey sticks and bricks.
Only leaders of the two opposing factions were allowed into court by police.
Members of the police’s public order policing unit were present, as were members of the eThekwini Metro Municipal Police.
undefinedThe two factions of the Nazareth Baptist Church - commonly known as the Shembe Church - have been at odds with each other since the death of leader Vimbeni Shembe in March 2011.
Vela Shembe, the cousin of Vimbeni, has been in a bitter dispute with Vembeni’s son, Mduduzi Shembe over who should lead the church following the leaderless void left after Shembe’s death.
Shembe had indicated shortly before his death that he wanted his son to take over the leadership of the church, but Vela has strongly contested this.
The succession battle has been a protracted one that has dragged on in the Durban High Court since 2011.
On Monday the tension between the two groups broke out into a full scale battle with police having to use rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the warring factions. It was not the first time that police have been called in to separate the two factions.
ANA