Smooth-tongued fraudsters speak their way into pockets of the poor
When people are hungry and desperate in troubled times, it ’ s easy to fool them
If there is anything to be said about Shepherd Bushiri, it is that he is a streetwise fellow – smart enough to hoodwink people into believing he is holy and can save their souls while also making them rich in their mortal lives.
But as we say in my neck of the woods, ubukleva buyaphela nabo (loosely translated – streetwise has its limitations and its sell-by date).
As reggae star Peter Tosh says, you can fool some people sometimes, but you can’t fool all the people all the time. That’s how Bushiri got into trouble with the laws of the land he allegedly handled money in a manner that is contrary to the law. Hence the fraud and moneylaundering charges amounting to R102m.
If Bushiri were convinced of his innocence, he wouldn’t have jumped bail. In proving the sincerity of his words and his commitment to the redemption of mankind, Jesus Christ never ran away from his tormentors.
He also did not invoke the powers that he had to smite his persecutors. Instead, he humbled himself, waited for the day of his trial and inevitable crucifixion.
As a Christian, I am mentioning the name of the Lord to argue that we should be wary of those who declare themselves prophets; those who arrogantly call themselves Men of God; those who pretend as if they hold the key to the gates of eternity.
Jesus never declared himself holy. Jesus never took money from poor people as Bushiri is alleged to have done. Instead, Jesus used his powers to multiply loaves of bread and pieces of fish so he could feed the poor.
Shying away from intimations of luxury, Jesus slept in barns, on the side of the road, in caves. Like a common man. The likes of Bushiri are the antithesis of this Christlike abstinence from glamour.
Yet our people fall for the wiles of these charlatans. They dig deep into their pockets so they can fatten the bank accounts of these demagogues. They have been told that if you give to the pastor, your fortunes will immediately multiply, while you are here on earth.
There is no logic in that; nor is there biblical evidence. But of course, the smoothtongued fraudsters in shiny suits don’t operate at the level of logic and biblical precedence. They use their guile and gift of the gab to speak their way into the pockets of the poor.
The holy book tells us that when the world is about to end, there will be a multiplicity of false prophets. As a kid, we were told the world was going to end in 1980. It did not. Later, the year of the feared implosion was the year 2000.
As a compulsive reader, especially of historical texts, I can assure you that human beings have been talking about the end of the world for thousands of years. So I don’t believe that the increase in the number of false prophets signifies the impending end.
False prophets have always been there. They thrive when nations are in economic trouble. In this country, we have high levels of unemployment, disease, violence. All these things increase levels of despair and fear in the populace. When people are hungry, scared and desperate, it is easy to fool them.
The likes of Shepherd Bushiri can read these signs and take advantage of them. At the time of writing, Bushiri, who fled the country last week, was in Malawi, the country of his birth. He has just handed himself over to the police in that country.
Meanwhile, the Hawks have forfeited his bail. There is increasing pressure on Malawian authorities to hand the fugitive over to SA so he can stand trial.
Of course, the man is innocent until proven guilty. He must just honour his day in court. Yes, Bushiri, we need you back here in SA.