SA judge, on bail after arrest in R2-million bribery scandal, placed on special leave

THE Chief Justice of South Africa Mandisa Maya has acted swiftly against a high court judge who was arrested for bribery and corruption involving R2-million and was released on bail. Maya has placed Judge Portia Dipuo Phahlane on special leave hours after her release.

The Judge President said: “The unprecedented arrest of a Judge, while deeply disquieting, also demonstrates that the country’s law enforcement apparatus and mechanisms of accountability and are in motion. It signals that no individual, regardless of their position, is above the law or beyond its reach. The development aligns with the Judiciary’s long-standing call to anyone with evidence of wrongdoing against judicial officers to bring it to the attention of the relevant state authorities so that appropriate action is taken. That call is repeated now. If there is rot in the Judiciary it must be exposed, in compliance with the relevant legal prescripts, and the full might of the law brought to bear against judicial officers who are found guilty of crime or misconduct. It must, however, be borne in mind that Judge Phahlane is entitled to the presumption of innocence and a fair process in a court of law. Thus, we must allow the independent legal process to run its course without prejudice or preconceived judgment.

“‘In the discharge of its constitutional obligations and to safeguard the integrity of its institution and the interests of affected parties. The Judiciary will, to the extent necessary in terms of the law, cooperate fully with the relevant law enforcement and prosecuting authorities in this matter while strictly respecting the independence of those processes. Measures will be put in place to ensure that the running of cases assigned for adjudication by Judge Phahlane is not disrupted as far as possible to safeguard continuity and justice for affected litigants. Judge Phahlane will be granted special leave with immediate effect pending finalisation of the criminal proceedings against her while the process of her suspension from duty is being considered.corridors of justice have been shaken to their foundations. Judge Portia Dipuo Phahlane, a Gauteng High Court judge whose rise from receptionist to the Bench inspired many, was arrested Tuesday evening alongside her son and two church leaders in a multimillion-rand corruption scandal that threatens to unravel one of South Africa’s most contentious legal battles.”

The Hawks allege Phahlane received over R2 million in kickbacks to deliver favourable rulings in the International Pentecost Holiness Church succession case. She appeared Wednesday morning in the Pretoria Commercial Crimes Court, charged with corruption and money laundering – crimes that strike at the heart of judicial independence.

Phahlane and her son Kagiso Phahlane appeared in the dock alongside controversial church leader Bhekumzi Michael Sadlana and Vusi Soli Ndala. The Judge was released on bail of R50 000. Her son Kagiso is out on R5 000 bail, and Ndala was freed on R10 000 bail. Sandlana was remanded in custody.

The arrests mark a dramatic turn in a case that has already featured death threats, armed guards in courtrooms, and allegations of murder, fraud, and stolen church assets worth hundreds of millions of rand.

According to investigators, church faction leader Sandlana’s group made several payments to Phahlane after a court interpreter allegedly introduced them, with a R2-million payment allegedly made toward a multimillion-rand property Phahlane was purchasing in 2022. Cash payments were allegedly handed over during clandestine meetings.

The Hawks’ investigation revealed a money trail amounting to millions of rand that allegedly changed hands among the accused.

Acting Hawks head Lieutenant General Siphosihle Nkosi was unequivocal in his response. “These arrests demonstrate the DPCI’s unwavering commitment to tackling corruption at all levels. We will continue to pursue all those who abuse positions of trust and undermine the rule of law,” he declared.

The case Phahlane presided over centred on one of South Africa’s largest religious disputes. After IPHC founder Bishop Glayton Modise died in 2016, a brutal succession war erupted among his sons Leonard and Tshepiso Modise, and Sandlana, who claims to be Modise’s biological son – a claim he has refused to verify through DNA testing.

The church, with an estimated three million members across Southern Africa, controlled assets worth approximately R400 million. What followed was a saga involving forged death certificates, stolen church buses, fraudulent property transfers, and even a deadly armed attack on the church’s Zuurbekom headquarters in 2020 that left five people dead.

Sandlana faces separate criminal charges for allegedly forging his estranged wife Benedicta’s death certificate while she was alive, positioning himself as the sole beneficiary of her estate. Church buses and properties were allegedly transferred using the deceased Bishop Modise’s fraudulently obtained identity documents.

The irony is bitter. In March 2023, Phahlane dismissed a recusal application brought by Leonard Modise, who argued she had been bribed by Sandlana. In her judgment, Phahlane noted the alleged originator of the bribery claims had distanced himself from the allegations. She argued the timing made the accusations implausible – how could Sandlana’s attorney have discussed bribing her in November 2021 when the case wasn’t even allocated to a judge until May 2022?

Yet investigators now allege that the very bribes she dismissed as inconceivable were, in fact, being paid.

While presiding over the IPHC matter, Phahlane received telephonic death threats on numerous occasions, necessitating the appointment of bodyguards. Her security detail became a regular courtroom fixture, present even in 2025 when she presided over other high-profile cases, including sentencing a man to two life terms for the rape and murder of his eight-day-old daughter.

She was scheduled to deliver judgment in February 2026 in another murder case. Instead, she now faces her own criminal trial.

Phahlane’s biography reads like a triumph over adversity. Raised by her grandmother, who ran a shebeen in Ga-Rankuwa while her mother worked as a live-in domestic worker, Phahlane worked as a school clerk for seven years and a medical receptionist before using her savings to pursue law degrees. She joined the Bar in 2003, relying heavily on Legal Aid briefs when private work proved scarce for a Black woman advocate.

During her Judicial Service Commission interview, she told commissioners she had practised for 18 years without receiving a single brief from the state attorney. Her judicial appointment in 2021 was celebrated as a testament to perseverance.

Now that legacy lies in ruins.

The arrests expose the vulnerability of South Africa’s judicial system to corruption. Judges wield enormous power over people’s lives, liberty, and property. When that power becomes purchasable, the entire legal system loses legitimacy.

The case also highlights how high-stakes litigation involving massive estates, religious control, and political influence creates fertile ground for corruption. The IPHC succession battle combined all these elements with allegations of police protection, political connections, and even links to organised violence.

As the case moves forward, difficult questions loom: How did alleged bribes totalling millions go undetected? Were there institutional failures in oversight? And most troubling – how many other cases might have been compromised?

The Hawks’ investigation continues. For now, a judge who once delivered justice from the Bench will seek it from the dock, while the legitimacy of her previous rulings hangs in the balance. The case serves as a stark reminder that in the architecture of justice, the judge is not merely important – the judge is everything. And when that cornerstone crumbles, the entire structure is threatened.

Judges Matter, the civil society organisation that monitors the judiciary in South Africa, has called for the judge to immediately step down from her judicial duties, while the Judicial Service Commission must urgently advise the President to place her on suspension, in terms of section 19 of the Judicial Service Commission Act 9 of 1994.