Church sues woman for R2.4m
Wife must also sell shared family home
AS IF being divorced by her husband of 26 years and being penniless was not enough, Pumza Myemane is being sued by Jesus Christ Family Church for R2.4-million they allege she stole from tithes over three years.
Myemane is the estranged wife of controversial church leader, “apostle prophet doctor professor” Andile Myemane.
The Jesus Christ Family Church (JCF) instituted legal action against her for R2 476 791.30, saying that she had been in control of the church’s offerings.
Myemane and her husband founded the church.
Court papers lodged by the church allege it discovered the theft in May during an internal audit. The church alleges that she stole the funds during 2009, 2010 and 2011.
Although the matter has not yet gone to court and no date has been set, Myemane has filed a notice to defend.
In her defendant’s plea, she denies having access to church funds.
Myemane has been kicked out of the church by her husband, who is said to be in a romantic relationship with his sister-in-law, Nombuzo Sisilana.
Sisilana is the wife of Myemane’s late brother, Phangalele Sisilana, who died in June 2008. Andile left his marital home in December 2014 and moved in with Sisilana.
The church has asked the court to order Myemane to pay the money she allegedly defrauded from them.
To add to her legal woes, Myemane is being taken to court by Sisilana over the lavish Beacon Bay home they bought together.
In court papers, Sisilana said she and her late husband had bought the mansion with the Myemanes and each partner owned a quarter of the property. Now she wants the house sold so she can get her and Pangalele’s portion.
“To this end, it is my duty by law to prepare and finalise a liquidation and distribution account of the said deceased estate as required by law,” she said in her papers where the Myemanes and Pam Golding Properties are cited as respondents.
“I personally engaged both [Andile and Pumza] respectively and at different occasions, to convince them to allow the sale of the said property to continue as I held that a further delay in me winding up the deceased’s estate could cause irreparable harm to both creditor and heirs,” she added.
However, Myemane believes the new court application is being brought to force her hand during the divorce proceedings she is defending against her husband.
“I trusted [Andile and Nombuzo] because they are my family and at the time they approached me to sign (authorising the sale) I was not aware that they had such intentions such as [Andile] to divorce me and marry [Nombuzo],” she said in her court papers.
Myemane said since her brother had died in 2008, Sisilana had never demanded her share of the house.
“She has taken or decided to institute this application only to frustrate me financially as she is aware I depend on the support of [Andile] who has stopped supporting me,” she added.
The matter returns to the East London High Court on December 10. — siyab@dispatch.