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Bushiri, wife out on court bail

The Pretoria Magistrate’s Court in South Africa has released self-proclaimed Malawian prophet Shepherd Bushiri and his wife, Mary, on bail bonds of 200 000 rand (about K10 million) each.

Besides the bail bond, the court also barred the couple from travelling outside South Africa and that the Bushiris should only visit two provinces, Bushiri and Enlightened Christian Gathering (ECG) spokesperson Ephraim Nyondo confirmed in an interview yesterday.

In a separate statement, Nyondo said the ECG and its followers were delighted that their leader was free.

Answering fraud charges: Bushiri

Reads the statement in part: “The Enlightened Christian Gathering is deeply delighted to reunite with its leaders, Prophet Shepherd Bushiri and Prophetess Mary Bushiri, as they have been released on bail by the Pretoria Magistrate Court.

“It has always been the prayer of the church and all those who stood with us to see them out and continue their God’s mission to preach the gospel and reach out to people through their humanitarian work.”

The church expressed gratitude to its membership and well-wishers for the support rendered when the duo was in custody.

Bushiri and his wife alongside two others were arrested by members of The Hawks, the Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigations, for their alleged involvement in fraud and money laundering 102 million rand (about K4.6 billion). The other two are Willah Mudolo and Zethu Mudolo.

Bushiri—who is also known as Major 1—and his wife were also arrested in February 2019 and face separate charges of fraud, money laundering and the contravention of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act for offences they allegedly committed from 2015.

Prior to yesterday’s release on bail, the Bushiris had on more than three instances failed to obtain bail in the case.

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