The International Pentecostal Holiness Church (IPHC) is going through turbulent times due to the leadership dispute that emerged after the death of the founder of this religious congregation, Frederic Mudise, in 1998.

The situation has also led to the division of the faithful, both in Mozambique and South Africa, mainly due to the battle for money and property. This is how new sects have emerged that share customs, but never space.

A newspaper publication News explains that when Frederic Mudise died, he was replaced by one of his sons, Cleyton Mudise. In 2016, as fate would have it, he also left the world of the living, aggravating the tension that had already arisen and which threatened to ruin the church's reputation.

After the death of Cleiton Mudise, Michael Sandlana was chosen as leader and since then the congregation has been at the center of a dispute between the founder's sons, who claim legitimacy to the throne.

Faced with a lack of consensus, each of them has taken over a cathedral and controls sub-areas. It's as if there were small sects within the same congregation. Although they still wear similar robes and ties, use the same symbols and sing the same songs, they don't share the same ideals.

However, IPHC spokesman Lino Hama said that in recent days, biased and distorted information has been circulating on social networks, which has contributed to confusing the legitimate leadership, which is why they called the press yesterday to clarify and assume that the chosen leader is Sandlana.

"Most of the believers in the country, namely in the parishes of Ferroviário, Manhiça, Magude, Matola "H", São Damaso, Zimpeto and Marracuene are with Michael Sandlana, while Tsepo's followers are in the Green Zone," he said.

The source added that the church, as the Kingdom of God, is not the property of the family or clan, but of God. Even so, he urged the community not to let themselves be manipulated by subversions from an individual or group of individuals who call themselves the owners of the entity.