Following Engenas Lekganyane's death in 1948, a major split in the church occurred. The church's large section of male migrant workers generally backed Engenas's oldest surviving son, the charismatic Edward Lekganyane, to succeed his father as the ZCC Bishop. The church's rural base, meanwhile, backed a younger son, Joseph, to assume church leadership. Although events are highly disputed, Engenas himself appears to have favoured Joseph even though Edward was the chosen one— who served as his father's adviser and chauffeur during the 1940s. According to some traditions, during Engenas Lekganyane's mourning period, Edward's supporters mobilised on the Witwatersrand and hired buses to take them to Moria. After arrival, this large, armed group was able to eject the pro-Joseph faction and take over the church's headquarters and infrastructure. Contemporary records relating to the event show that Edward was installed peacefully in Easter 1949 in a large ceremony by his uncle, Reuben. Other written reports from the following year indicate that strong opposition to his leadership had arisen among "most of the preachers" in the ZCC who were "shocked" by Edward: "they denied the son of the great Lekganyane, saying he was not leader of the church."Initially the two factions remained together, but Edward soon insisted that all members declare their loyalty in public, and this led to a permanent split. The ZCC continued under Edward's leadership, while Joseph seceded and formed the St. Engenas Zion Christian Church in 1949.