Business as usual for fugitive Bushiri

It is business, or rather church, as usual for Malawian prophet Shepherd Bushiri and his wife who fled the country almost three weeks after their bail earlier last month.

Bushiri, his wife Mary, Landiwe Ntlokwana, and two others were arrested in October and appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on charges of fraud, theft, and money laundering worth over R100 million.

Yesterday Bushiri and his wife again appeared in the High Court in Lilongwe where an appeal of the lower court ruling by the Malawi state prosecutor was heard in court, News24 reported.

The ruling found that their arrests by the Malawi Police Service were unlawful because it was not channelled through the ministry of homeland security.

“We have raised preliminary objections to do with the jurisdiction of the court to hear a criminal review of what we consider as a civil matter,” said the Bushiris’ lawyer, Wapona Kita, yesterday.

The matter in Malawi has been postponed to 14 December.

In the meantime, Bushiri is regularly sharing church-related posts to his Facebook page.

During the Monday service, he said that December will be the month of another chance.

“I see new windows of opportunities being flung open. I see your relationship with God being revived and your fellowship with the Holy Spirit going into deeper level,” Bushiri posted.

Hawks spokeswoman Colonel Katlego Mogale said there was no new information about the investigation against Bushiri.