Gauteng High Court Judge Portia Phahlane has been prohibited from entering the Pretoria High Court as she faces a series of corruption and money laundering charges....Click to Read More >>➤

Phahlane was arrested this week and appeared before the Commercial Crimes Court alongside her son, Kagiso, and Michael Sandlana, leader of the Jerusalem faction of the International Pentecostal Holiness Church (IPHC).

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She is accused of receiving more than R2 million in bribes from Sandlana while presiding over the church’s heated succession battle in the High Court.

IPHC Succession Battle at Centre of Criminal Charges

Phahlane, her son, and the church’s spokesperson, Vusi Ndala, were granted bail on Wednesday, while Sandlana remained in custody.

For several months, the judge had been overseeing the IPHC leadership dispute involving Sandlana, one of three men laying claim to the church’s top position.

Now, she stands alongside him as a co-accused on 19 counts of corruption, collectively with Kagiso and Ndala.

Strict Bail Conditions Imposed on Judge Portia Phahlane

Magistrate Nica Setshogoe granted Phahlane R50,000 bail and ordered that she surrender her passport. The court also imposed strict restrictions on her access to judicial buildings.

“Accused 4 is prohibited from entering the buildings of the high courts. She is barred from doing that until further notified or an application may be brought to court for an amendment of such a condition.”

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Judge Phahlane insists the charges stem from a personal vendetta linked to the church’s leadership dispute.