Bushiri seeks to end body searches
Pastor says police unfairly targeting him at airports
Prophet Shepherd Bushiri has gone to court in an attempt to prevent “embarrassing and humiliating” bodily and luggage searches on him at South African airports.
The searches saw at one stage his underwear thrown to the floor at Lanseria International Airport when his luggage was rigorously searched, Bushiri alleged.
He said the searches also happened in front of congregants from his Enlightened Christian Gathering church during a recent cruise to the Portuguese Islands and the pilots of his private jet were given the same treatment.
In the court papers filed in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria last month, Bushiri demanded that the Hawks remove his name from the “Interpol Red Notice”, which he said brought about the “inhumane” searches.
Bushiri, who is under investigation by the Hawks, said such searches happened at Lanseria, OR Tambo International, Durban harbour and the JFK Airport in New York.
He said the first incident occurred at Lanseria Airport, west of Johannesburg, in February, where their “luggages (sic) were turned upside down with my underwears (sic) thrown out on the ground”.
“The whole ordeal took approximately two hours, thereby delaying my departure time,” stated Bushiri in court papers.
“The ordeal was embarrassing and appeared to be aimed at embarrassing me and degrading on my dignity and damaging my reputation as a religious leader.”
Hawks spokesman Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi confirmed that Bushiri was under investigation but denied they had placed him on any notice with Interpol. “We will not unpack or reveal what we are investigating on Bushiri until it’s all finalised,” Mulaudzi said.
Bushiri’s lawyer Ntsako Baloyi said the court application had already successfully put a stop to the “inhumane searches”. “We [are] proud to say that embarrassment, humiliation and harassment has since ceased mainly as a result of the aforesaid application,” Baloyi said.
He said they had discovered a plan by police aimed at “causing a major embarrassment” to Bushiri during a trip to Malawi about two weeks ago. He said the move was halted after police were made aware of the court application.