Lungani Zungu
The ConCourt has brought to a close a decade-long succession battle within Nazareth Baptist Church (Shembe).
After a long-contested battle over who should take over at the head of the church, the court has ruled that the late Vela Shembe was the rightful leader.
Vela was the nephew of the church’s longtime leader, Vimbeni Shembe, who died in 2011.
The ruling now confirms Phinda Shembe as the current leader of the church, which boasts millions of members across the country.
He was nominated by Vela in his will when he died in 2017.
The power struggle first began when Vimbeni died in 2011 after his son, Mduduzi of the eBuhleni faction, dramatically claimed that his father had orally nominated him to lead the church.
Vela from the Thembezinhle faction has stood firm to this claim in court, and ultimately proved that Vimbeni had indeed nominated him in his will.
The Mduduzi faction then launched a series of appeals, all the way to the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein.
When they lost, they launched a last-ditch attempt to the ConCourt, which has now also failed.
However, it remains to be seen if they will accept defeat and mend their broken relationship with the Thembezinhle faction.
The church had been torn into many factions since 1976, but eBuhleni and Thembezinhle emerged as the two factions clashing for the leadership of the church.
Thokozani Mncwabe, the spokesperson of the eBuhleni losing faction, said their leader Mduduzi was still waiting for his lawyers to brief him.
“For now, we plead with our members to focus on going to church. No one must talk about the ruling until our leader gives us the go-ahead.”
He wouldn’t say whether they would accept the ruling.
The spokesperson of the Thembezinhle faction, Slindelo Bhengu, said they are vindicated by the ruling.
“We hope every church member will accept it and move on,” he said.
“There is no need to fight anymore, we are one people.”
At stake was the church’s assets, which amount to millions.
Mduduzi has to vacate the lavish eBuhleni mansion in eNanda and surrender the church-sponsored cars to the rightful leader Phinda, who is his cousin and now the sole trustee of the assets of the church.
Image source: @NomfundoNgcobo
