‘Prophet’ Bushiri and co granted bail

Magistrate Thandi Thelede granted four of the five accused bail, and warned the them not to interfere with the State’s case or to contact witnesses.

Bail has been granted for the self-proclaimed prophet, Shepherd Bushiri, and others accused of theft, money laundering, and fraud in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday morning.

It was D-day for Bushiri, his wife Mary, Landiwe Ntlokwana, and one other accused who heard judgement in their bail applications. The five accused were arrested in October.

Magistrate Thandi Thelede granted four of the five accused bail, and warned the them not to interfere with the State’s case or to contact witnesses.

Bushiri and his wife’s bail has been fixed at R200,000 each.

Self proclaimed Prophet Shepherd Bushiri and his wife Mary at the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court, 4 November 2020.

Accused two, who may not be named, was granted bail of R20,000.Ntlokwana’s was granted bail of R100,000.

The Bushiri couple were told not to leave South Africa until the case against them was finalised.

Outside the court, members of the Enlightened Christian Gathering (ECG) church again showed up in their numbers to show their support for the self-proclaimed prophet and his co-accused in court.

Accused one’s application was postponed until Friday.

Pastor Mboro, Paseka Motsoeneng, at the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court for Pastor Bushiri’s bail hearing, 4 November 2020.

Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said on Monday that his department had uncovered evidence that the Bushiris entered the country using visitors’ visas, and opted to conduct business, which is not allowed.

Two previous notices sent to the Bushiris explaining details in their permanent residence applications were also withdrawn. The latest one was sent out in August, just two months before they were arrested.

The couple have been in the country since 6 September 2009.

The formal bail application began on Monday in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court, with Magistrate Thandi Thelede hearing the State’s arguments as to why the five accused should not be granted bail.

The State deems all five suspects to be flight risks, especially the Bushiris, as they possess multiple passports and are not South African citizens.

Advocate Annelene van der Heever, who is representing Bushiri, his wife and Ntlokwana, argued that her clients were not flight risks, saying that if they wanted to flee they would have done so when they were first arrested in February last year.

However, the State said on Monday that Ntlokwana had not yet handed in her current or expired passports.

– citizen