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Shembe new leader yet to be announced

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Shembe congregants will have to wait another week to find out who will be their new leader.

Nazareth Baptist Church leader Vela Shembe passed away earlier in December after a short illness.

According to the church’s legal representatives, the successor will be announced after certain internal issues are resolved.

Congregants from the Thembezinhle faction have been without a leader for a month. On Saturday, many who had turned up to hear the announcement were left disappointed.

“No successor was announced today (Saturday) because as the legal team, together with the advocate, we had to take into account the number of issues; the interest of the family, the church, the congregants, and the interest of all the court cases. So, we took a decision that we will need at least a bit more time to prepare the congregants for the announcements,” says legal representative, Trevor Nkosi.

Shembe had been embroiled in a bitter court battle with his nephew Mduduzi Shembe, leader of the eBuhleni faction. He died a year after the Durban High Court ruled that he was the rightful leader of the church, which is said to have five million followers.

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