Johannesburg - The estranged wife of International Pentecostal Holiness Church faction leader Michael Sandlana is living in fear after several death threats, allegedly by Sandlana’s hit men, sources have said.
Sandlana has refused to do a DNA test to prove that he is Bishop MG Modise’s son.
Modise, who died in 2016, was the head of the three million-member-strong church which, according to custom, should be headed by Modise’s son.
Benedicta Sandlana now lives in fear and has been receiving death threats from Sandlana’s followers since reporting his alleged involvement in fraudulent activities.
Benedicta Sandlana lodged a fraud case at Sandton police station after she discovered that a death certificate had been issued in her name last year.
Sandlana was arrested and released on bail, along with those believed to have helped him commit fraud.
Some Modise family members have called Sandlana an impostor pretending to be Modise’s son in order to get his hands on the late bishop’s almost R300 million estate.
“She does not feel safe at all. She is being spied on by those close to her husband. They’re after her because she spoke out and said the husband was not the comforter MG Modise’s son.”
Benedicta had made the discovery that fraud had been perpetrated against her after she battled to make transactions using her bank account.
The Star understands that Sandlana is being investigated for a number of crimes, including fraud and possession of an illegal firearm.
Benedicta opened another fraud case with Alberton police when she allegedly found out that the ownership of her Mercedes-Benz C-Class, which was previously registered in her name, had been changed.
Last year, hundreds of IPHC members protested outside the Westonaria Magistrate’s Court, on the West Rand, where advocate Goodwill Papie Maluleke was appearing on allegations of defrauding the IPHC Jerusalem faction, led by Sandlana.
Allegations are that Maluleke was hired by the Sandlana-led faction of the church to represent its 42 members, who were arrested in 2020 following a massacre at the church’s headquarters at Zuurbekom in the west of Johannesburg, where MG Modise’s son Leonard Modise is bishop.
Modise had anointed his son Leonard as his successor.
In a past interview, the National Prosecuting Authority told IOL that the murder charges against the 42 had been struck off the court roll.
The IPHC Jerusalem faction insisted the SAPS had failed in its bid to pin the crime, that took place at Zuurbekom, on the 42.
The massacre claimed the lives of 10 people.
The Star