Staff Reporter
MAJOR 1, the self-proclaimed Prophet, Shepherd Bushiri and his wife Mary, have fled to their country of origin, Malawi, after being set free on bail of R200 000 each in a South African court.
Bushiri, his wife, and the two other persons were arrested in October on charges of fraud, money laundering, and theft that amounts to R102 million. The ‘First Couple’ spent more than two weeks in police custody before the received bail.
The bail conditions set in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court prohibits the couple to leave South Africa and they had to hand their travel documents to the investigating officer in the matter.
In Namibia, Prophet Jackson Babi has been approaching the courts in an attempt to secure bail after he was arrested in May on charges of rhino poaching.
The Bushiris released a statement on Saturday morning, confirming that they fled to Malawi and said that they did it because their lives are in danger.
“I would like to inform the general public that my wife, Mary, and I are temporarily in our home country, Malawi, because of safety and security issues since 2015, matters that got worse when we just got out on bail,” the Enlightened Christian Gathering leader said.
In 2016 controversy surrounded the Prophet when he arrived in Namibia in a luxury private jet for a crusade at the Katutura Stadium and a gala dinner where guests paid N$1 000 to attend.
Some guests paid as much as N$125 000 just to sit in close proximity to the self-styled prophet during the dinner at the Ramatex complex.
The crusade at the Sam Nujoma Stadium drew a crowd of about 20 000 people, while 3 000 people attended the Ramatex gala dinner.
One of the main organisers of the visit of Number 1, as Shepherd calls himself, to Namibia at the time was the spokesperson of the home affairs ministry, Salome Kambala, who came under fire as questions were raised about taxes and a work permit for the visiting prophet.
At the time, the home affairs minister, Penduikeni Iivula-Ithana, and finance minister, Calle Schlettwein, announced investigations into the possible contravention of the state finances acts, as well as visa contraventions.
The investigation by the finance ministry was launched after the former home affairs permanent secretary, Ambassador Patrick Nandago revealed that Bushiri visited Namibia on a work permit, which made him liable for paying tax on his income from the Ramatex gala dinner.
The controversial visit in 2016 also riled up local church leaders, among them the leader of the Association of Charismatic and Pentecostal Churches of Namibia, Pastor Fritz Gaweseb, who said that people should stop running after prophets for miracles.
The Inspector General of the Namibian Police, Lieutenant General Sebastian Ndeitunga, also faced severe criticism for providing Bushiri with state protection.
Major 1 said fleeing from South Africa is a tactical withdrawal to save their lives.
“There have been clear and evident attempts to have me, my wife and my family killed and despite our attempts to report to authorities, there has never been any state protection,” Bushiri stated.
Bushiri added a number of demands in his statement, including that the South African government assure them of their safety and security whilst in the country and that their bail would not be revoked, as well as the right to have a fair trial.
He has also requested that the Malawian government to liaise with the South African government to meet their requests.
“I will hold a press briefing in Lilongwe, Malawi, and it will be aired on all media networks across the world soon,” Bushiri concluded.
