'Deceitful forces of darkness' - church says armed assailants were led by a former member

• The IPHC alleges that assailants were led by a former church member.
• The hostage situation left five people dead and over 40 arrested.
• The church has condemned the events which saw 34 firearms - including five rifles, 16 shotguns and 13 pistols - seized.

"The assailants arrived at 01:30 disguised as police officers, led by a BMW 3-series, flanked by two Toyota Quantum combis, and upon being denied entry they circled to another entrance created for trucks and suppliers where they gained access," the church's secretary of council Ntate Mpho Makwana said in a statement on Sunday .

"[Because] they were led by a former member who knows the premises, they were able to enter forcefully through the south gate entrance," Makwana added.

The smouldering shells of two cars that were set alight outside the IPHC headquarters in Zuurbekom where five people died in a hostage drama on Saturday.

News24 Ntwaagae Seleka, News24

Suspects and guns found at the IPHC headquarters in Zuurbekom after five people were killed

Supplied by SAPS

This comes after hostage drama left five people dead and more 40 arrested in Zuurbekom, Gauteng, News24 earlier reported.

ALSO READ | EXCLUSIVE: I ran and they opened fire - eyewitness recalls Gauteng church hostage drama

"At approximately 03:00 this morning, various disciplines of the South African Police Service, followed by members of the South African National Defence Force, responded to reports of a shooting and an alleged hostage situation at the International Pentecost Holiness Church," national police spokesperson Brigadier Vish Naidoo said in an earlier report on Saturday. 

"A group of armed people came to the Modise church and allegedly attacked people who were inside, indicating that they were coming to take over the premises," he added.

Four people were found shot and burnt to death in a car, while a fifth victim, a security guard, was shot dead in his car while he was apparently attending to the complaint.

Those arrested include members of SAPS, SANDF, the Johannesburg Metro Police Department and the Department of Correctional Services.

Naidoo emphasised that the security force members had not been at the scene in their official capacities. "Instead they were there as members of the church/congregants and they just happen to be members of the different departments," News24 reported.

Weapons seized

More than 34 firearms - including five rifles, 16 shotguns and 13 pistols - were seized.

READ | Security forces among 40 congregants arrested in Gauteng church hostage drama that left 5 dead

The church alleges that this is not the first time that this modus operandi has been used, mentioning one incident at His Grace The Comforters' premises in Pienaarsrivier in January 2020 and another in May 2019 at the IPHC's Mount Zion pilgrimage.

"The church is a spiritual place of hope and healing. Despicable acts of this nature committed in the name of spirituality are in-despicable [sic] and have to be condemned for the abomination that they are," the convener of the IPHC's executive council, Priest A J Wessie, said.

In February 2016, the church's leader Bishop Glayton M Modise died. The church was founded in 1962 by his father Reverend Frederick S Modise.

Known to church members as "Moemedi", "Ntate" and "Comforter", Reverend Frederick S Modise died in 1998 and was buried at the Zuurbekom church headquarters, Drum previously reported.

Among the mourners at the 2016 funeral were prominent South African politicians, including former president Thabo Mbeki and former president of the PAC Stanley Mogoba.

The church says that since 2016, these "satanic elements" led by the "defected group" have sought to hijack the legacy of its founder, "His Grace Comforter, Frederick S Modise and his successor, Comforter GM Modise".

Succession battle

These violent acts all stem from a succession battle between splinter groups that is now before the court. According to Wessie, the court is yet to set a date to hear oral evidence.

"We are waiting for the court to rule on this matter but despite that they ambushed this church, this is the third attempt to overthrow and forcefully take over.

"It is very regrettable as one life lost is one too many, that is 5 people. If we count all the lives lost due to this leadership battle, that 9 to 10," Wessie further explained at a briefing on Sunday afternoon.

The church is now led by the founder's grandson, Frederick LG Modise.

In the statement, Modise said he was saddened by the events, which he saw as a violation of a sacred land.

"The elders that came before me built a legacy based on love and peace. I call upon all the children of the true Comforter of the IPHC to see this as a moment of reckoning, see this as God calling on you to turn your back on the deceitful forces of darkness, that use violence and any means necessary to hijack our Comforter's good legacy for personal and evil gain," Modise said. 

In November 2018, News24 reported that three people were hospitalised after one faction attacked another at the headquarters.

National police spokesperson Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo was not immediately available to respond to updates regarding further arrests. His comment will be added once it is received.