Until 1994, black South Africans were systematically denied any right to vote by the forces of colonialism, segregation and apartheid. Lack of representation and equality, in turn, led to

systematic oppression and injustice. But decades before that — in 1949 — a large group of black South Africans voted for their leaders in a free and fair election – an election that has been

totally forgotten. On June 1, 1949, less than a year after the Nationalist Party assumed power and began to implement its apartheid scheme, somewhere between a third and a quarter of the

members of the Zion Christian Church (ZCC) descended on their spiritual capital, Zion City Moria. They voted to install Edward Lekganyane (1922-1967) as the successor to his father, Engenas

finances boomed. It enabled the ZCC to become South Africa’s largest, wealthiest, and most visible religious body. GROWTH OF THE CHURCH The ZCC grew out of the Pentecostal movement which

arrived in South Africa from America in 1908. It emphasised emotional forms of worship featuring faith healing, dancing, prophesying, singing, and speaking in tongues, especially in raucous

all night services. Before long, African-run “Zionist” offshoots emerged. These typically prohibited the consumption of alcohol, tobacco, drugs, pork and medicine. Although it ultimately

became by far the largest and most successful independent African church in Africa – currently over 10-million-strong – during Engenas Lekganyane’s time it was playing catch up with other

Zionist and independent African churches. But that changed after Edward’s election. DEATH OF A MIRACLE WORKER During the last few years of his life, the increasingly alcoholic Engenas lived

a secluded life on his private farm east of Polokwane, which he had renamed Zion City Moria. By this time, the ZCC was not yet South Africa’s biggest Zionist church, although it was growing

rapidly. Zion City in the northern part of South Africa, was a rare oasis of black spirituality, completely separate from white-run churches, where believers could visit periodically for

healing and spiritual renewal. Although Lekganyane was increasingly unwell, his fame as a miracle worker was never greater. Nevertheless, Engenas was drinking alcohol in contravention of

church rules. He was also receiving care from white doctors, another outlawed practice in a church that insisted on faith healing. As his debility worsened, church duties were increasingly

performed by ministers and members who were not family members. Barnabas (1919-49), his oldest son, was generally seen as the natural choice as successor. Edward, the second born, was

intelligent but reluctant to engage in church duties. In 1946 he absconded to Natal where he lived under an alias. His younger brother Joseph (1931-72), still a teenager, became a favourite

of Engenas’s entourage. Engenas eventually died on May 31, 1948, and was hastily buried by his inner circle the next day. All expected the oldest song, Barnabas, to be the next bishop, until

he died of smallpox in January 1949. At the age of 30, he was a victim of the ZCC’s anti-vaccination stance. FACTIONS With the succession race now thrown open, the exiled Edward found a

hostile reception at Zion City. He based himself in the greater Johannesburg area and was welcomed by the migrant worker membership and leadership there. This group declared itself the

“Eastern” faction, and opposed the “Western” membership now led by his brother Paulus and the inner Lekganyane circle. The Western faction controlled Zion City Moria and the church apparatus

after Engenas’s death. Eastern faction members went _en masse_ to the annual Easter conference at Moria, where they pressed Edward’s claims as the next Kgosi (Chief) or Morena (Lord) of the

ZCC. They gave him the final, keynote address at the event. However, Paulus and the Western faction were still not ready to accede, and agreed to have an election to settle the matter. THE

ELECTION On June 1, 1949, 12 349 members of both sexes arrived at Zion City to cast their votes between Edward and Paulus. Travelling by bus, lorry, train and foot, the Eastern faction

prevailed and won a majority for Edward. The electoral process was fair, and supervised by one “Sergeant Kotzee” (sic) of the South African Police and a multiracial group of constables. Less

than two weeks later, Edward was installed as ZCC Bishop and the election result was published in the _Bantu Mirror_ newspaper. Although Paulus accepted the verdict, the 18-year-old Joseph

did not. He maintained that his father had left a will anointing him his successor and giving him all the church property. This will has yet to publicly surface. When Joseph’s supporters

refused to accept the verdict, they were driven by force onto his inherited section of Moria. Several months later, on September 15, he established the rival St Engenas ZCC. Despite that,

the ZCC election of 1949 led to a truly “democratic” outcome. The church’s favourite, Edward, became bishop, and under his leadership non-family members were elevated to all key posts in the

organisation. Before Edward died in 1967, his dynamic organisation had grown tenfold in only 20 years, while its new business empire flourished. In particular, Edward proved adept at

catering to the needs of the millions of migrant workers. Today Edward’s “Star” section of the ZCC has some 10 million members, while Joseph’s “Dove” section remains smaller with an

estimated six million. The doctrinal and organisational differences between the two are small. Nevertheless they maintain an intense rivalry.