Judge Portia Phahlane, a Gauteng High Court judge, has been arrested on allegations that she received bribes while presiding over a bitter succession dispute in the International Pentecost Holiness Church (IPHC).
According to News24, Phahlane was taken into custody on Tuesday evening on corruption charges after investigators alleged she received more than R2 million in kickbacks to rule in favour of one faction in the IPHC’s succession battle.
Her son was also arrested in Gauteng, while church leader Michael Sandlana and his associate, Vusi Ndala, were detained on Wednesday morning on related allegations of paying the kickbacks.
Alleged kickbacks linked to IPHC succession battle
The corruption allegations centre on a protracted legal fight over who should succeed the late IPHC leader, Glayton Modise, after his death in 2016.
The church, founded by Frederick Modise in the 1960s, split into three main factions, with Modise’s sons, Tshepiso and Leonard, contesting the leadership alongside Sandlana, who also claimed to be Modise’s biological son.
Investigators allege that the faction led by Sandlana made several payments to Judge Phahlane after a court interpreter reportedly introduced them.
Some payments were allegedly delivered in cash during clandestine meetings, while a R2 million payment was allegedly made towards a multimillion-rand property the judge was in the process of buying in 2022.
The IPHC succession case had been scheduled for trial in February 2023 but did not go ahead after the Modise brothers withdrew their application, although they continued to dispute Sandlana’s claim to the church leadership.
Earlier recusal bid over bribery claims
Before the matter stalled, one of the factions sought Judge Phahlane’s recusal over claims of alleged bribery.
An affidavit by advocate Goodwill Maluleke stated that Sandlana’s attorney had told him in November 2021 that the judge had been “sanitised” to rule in Sandlana’s favour.
In a March 2023 judgment dismissing the recusal application, Judge Phahlane rejected the allegations and highlighted inconsistencies in the timeline, noting that the IPHC case had not yet been allocated to any judge when the alleged statement was said to have been made.
She criticised the legal practitioners involved for failing to give proper attention to the facts and referred her judgment to the Legal Practice Council for investigation.
Threats, security and high-profile cases
During her handling of the IPHC matter, Judge Phahlane received multiple death threats, prompting the Office of the Chief Justice to assign bodyguards.
Her security detail became a regular presence in court, and remained visible in later high-profile criminal cases she presided over.
In 2025, she handed down two life sentences to Hugo Ferreira, a 37-year-old man who pleaded guilty to raping and murdering his eight-day-old daughter. She also presided over the murder trial of three men accused of beating farmworker Dumisani Phakathi to death on a North West farm in 2016, with judgment in that matter expected in February next year.
Calls for suspension as JSC weighs next steps
Civil society group Judges Matter said it was “deeply shocked” by the arrest, noting that while Judge Phahlane is presumed innocent until proven guilty, the seriousness of the allegations requires urgent action from the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).
The organisation argued that any delay in considering her suspension could cause “irreparable damage” to the reputation of the judiciary, and urged the JSC to advise the president to place her on suspension while the matter is investigated.
Under the JSC Act, the JSC typically considers a formal complaint on affidavit and may recommend the appointment of a Judicial Conduct Tribunal, alongside advising the president on whether to suspend a judge facing serious allegations of misconduct.
When this article was published, Judge Phahlane and her co-accused made her first appearance in the Pretoria Commercial Crimes Court.
Who is Judge Portia Phahlane?
According to Judges Matter, Portia Dipuo Phahlane was appointed as a judge of the Gauteng High Court in April 2021 after several acting stints in the division, mainly in criminal trial courts.
She previously practised as an advocate from 2003 and has been a member of the Church Square Association of Advocates.
Her career path includes starting as a receptionist and later working as a clerk and at a casino before studying law through Vista University and completing her LLB with the help of student loans.
She has been noted for prompt delivery of judgments and for extensive pro bono work for clients referred by Legal Aid South Africa.
Judges Matter previously highlighted her “tenacity” in overcoming financial and professional barriers to join the Bar and later the Bench, including the difficulty of obtaining state briefs as a black woman advocate.
The corruption case now opens a parallel legal process in which Judge Phahlane will stand as an accused in the dock, while judicial oversight bodies consider how to respond to the allegations against a sitting High Court judge.
