Johannesburg - Scores of United African Transformation (UAT) and International Pentecostal Holiness Church (IPHC) Jerusalem faction members protested outside the Palm Ridge Magistrates Court ahead of IPHC leader Michael Sandlana’s court appearance yesterday.
The court inside was also packed with traditionally clad men and women who followed Sandlana around as he strutted his stuff minutes before his court appearance on allegations of fraud and corruption.
However, the court case could not proceed as the presiding magistrate was not available yesterday.
Sandlana’s estranged wife, Magalane Benedicta Sandlana, opened a case of fraud and corruption against him in April this year.
Magalane has accused Sandlana of changing the ownership details of her Mercedes-Benz C-Class W205, which was previously registered in her name, without her knowledge or consent.
Early this year, IPHC’s Jerusalem division rubbished reports alleging that the church was at the core of a new political party, the UAT, led by Abel Tau, the former ActionSA Gauteng provincial secretary and former acting mayor of the City of Tshwane.
However, scenes from yesterday’s court appearance at the Palm Ridge Magistrates Court painted a different picture, as throngs upon throngs of protesters dressed in UAT T-shirts sang and danced outside court while many others kept a close eye on the proceedings inside court.
They were brought on no less than 20 buses and they paraded outside and inside court.
A church member who identified himself as Jephtar Baloyi said he was there to support his leader, who is being persecuted through the courts.
“You are correct. The Great Lion King of Judah arrived at Palm Ridge Magistrates Court in time. We are here in full numbers to support our father, and to our surprise, the magistrate is not available. Please tell him we are ready to proceed,” he said.
In April this year, at a joint media briefing in Tshwane, cleric Vusi Ndala, spokesperson for “successor” Sandlana and Tau, rubbished reports that the church was entangled with the new political party established by the former ActionSA member.
According to Independent Media, Ndala told reporters that fears that the church had become entangled with a single political formation, as claimed in the media, were not justified.
He said members would not be coerced or influenced to vote for that party ahead of the hotly contested 2024 general elections.
“When (former president Nelson) Mandela was released, he came to church and he campaigned. His successor, Thabo Mbeki, came, and he campaigned. Jacob Zuma came, and he campaigned. We have had a lot of leaders, including from the DA.
“In actual fact, for the Zuurbekom precinct, the person who cut the ribbon was the former apartheid state president, FW de Klerk,” he said.
Last year, fraud allegations were reported to the police by the complainant days after the Alexandra Magistrate’s Court released Sandlana and his co-accused on bail.
However, in a statement issued on Thursday, Tsakani Manganyi, a spokesperson for Tau’s UAT party, said that they wished to clarify matters relating to the perceived association between the party and the church.
According to Manganyi, Tau was approached by the church after forming UAT.
“I was approached by a lot of people who were not comfortable with the association of UAT with a certain church and the name Tau spelled backwards.
“We then took a decision to see the bigger picture and evolve into an organisation that will work with all South Africans from all walks of life, of different religions, cultures, and traditions,” Tau is quoted as saying.
Attempts to get comment from the National Prosecuting Authority on the next sitting of the case were not successful at the time of going to print.
The Star