‘Now we know that the enemy is from within’ Shembeites and the Struggle for Control of Isaiah Shembe’s Legacy and the Church

Abstract

In 1911, Isaiah Shembe (1865-1935) founded the Nazareth Baptist Church popularly known as KwaShembe (Dube 1936: 29). The church became the first amongst the Zulus to be founded ‘with the quest to restore the Zulu to their glorious past’ (Masondo 2004: 69-79). Today it is the oldest and most re-spected church founded with the intention of bringing Christianity and the quest for Zulu nationalism and culture together in South Africa. In its early days, the church was faced with much opposition from the missionaries who accused it of misleading people, polluting the gospel and sheep-stealing. Shembe had to continuously defend himself and his church against the external forces that sought to destroy him and his church. As a result, the church has had to walk a fine line, between belligerence and servility throughout the colonial and apartheid periods. However, its history has also been marked by forces from within that have divided the church into what has become seven splinter groups, or factions, that are at war with one another. The power-struggles and fights amongst family members have directly taken a toll on the once great church as each scrambles for a piece of the legacy, prestige, and resources, of the church and its founder. This article mainly examines the factors that lead to the conflicts that have divided the church into the seven groups that are at loggerheads with each other and threaten to destroy its legacy.