29/09/2026
CHURCH DISPUTE OVER LATE APOSTLE’S TWO WIVES REACHES COURT
By Nokwanda Mamba
, 29 September 2026
MANZINI : Just three months after the death of Faith Christian Fellowship Church founder Apostle Jeremiah Dlamini, a dispute involving his two wives has divided members of the church and reached the Manzini Magistrates Court.
The dispute centres on the position and role traditionally associated with the pastor’s wife within the church following Dlamini’s death.
The matter came before Magistrate Thamsanqa Ndlovu, where church members admitted that the disagreement had resulted in factions. Some members are reportedly supporting Dlamini’s first wife, LaShongwe, while others back his second wife, Nolwazi Kunene.
According to the Times of Swaziland, the dispute has its roots in disagreements surrounding Dlamini’s two marriages, with some members questioning Kunene’s position within the church structures following the apostle’s death.
Dlamini died in July after spending several days in hospital. His death was confirmed by Kunene, who was identified as his second wife. Public reports state that Dlamini married Kunene under Swazi Law and Custom in 2012, after a period during which their relationship had attracted criticism.
During the court proceedings, it emerged that some church members had opposed Dlamini’s marriage to Kunene and had allegedly been angered by the union at the time.
According to members who addressed the court, those members have now resurfaced and are opposed to Kunene automatically occupying the position associated with the pastor’s wife within the church structures.
However, other members told the court that they had worked alongside Dlamini and Kunene without experiencing problems with their ministry. They said the church had continued operating well during the period when the two worked together.
The court further heard that the dispute had already affected the functioning of the church, with the Manzini branch reportedly among those most affected.
Church members also claimed that they had observed an increase in the number of congregants following the return of Dlamini’s first wife to the church.
According to the church members, the structure left by the late apostle required disputes within the church to first be discussed by church leaders, who would then make a decision.
It was on this basis that Magistrate Ndlovu questioned why the matter had already reached court, suggesting that the dispute was premature and should first have been addressed internally.
The magistrate asked whether the church could restore its previous structure and operations while the dispute was being resolved.
The response was that this could prove difficult because some members had already become directly involved in the dispute, making it challenging to simply return to the situation that existed before Dlamini’s death.
The court also heard that senior pastors should engage one another on a way forward.
Magistrate Ndlovu proposed that assistance be sought from church mother bodies, including the League of Churches and the Conference of Churches, to help mediate the dispute.
The parties agreed that six representatives from each faction would participate in discussions aimed at resolving the differences.
They requested three months to engage each other and return to court with a report on their progress.
The court further heard that the late apostle had reportedly been deeply affected by disputes within the church towards the end of his life. Members said his attention had increasingly been drawn to disagreements at a time when it should have been focused on his ministry.
The parties agreed that the church should continue operating as it did before the dispute while efforts were made to resolve the differences.
The matter is expected to return before Magistrate Ndlovu on January 11, 2027, when the parties are expected to report on the outcome of their internal discussions.
