The Sunday News
PROPHET Shepherd Bushiri, the leader of the Enlightened Christian Gathering (ECG) church, has been arrested in South Africa.
The church’s External Relations Manager, Maynard Manyowa posted a statement on Bushiri’s official Facebook account informing congregants of the arrest.
According to the post, Bushiri and his wife Mary were arrested at the Sparkling Waters Hotel in Rustenburg, South Africa on Friday morning.
The post claims that Bushiri is facing charges of fraud and money laundering. Last year Sowetan’s sister paper, Sunday World, reported that the police’s elite crime-fighting unit, the Hawks, was investigating charismatic prophet Shepherd Bushiri for money laundering after members of the church leadership claimed he was sending an estimated R15-million a month to Malawi, his country of birth.
The money was allegedly transported out of South Africa in Bushiri’s private jet and other vehicles. Last week Bushiri appeared before the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (the CRL Rights Commission) to explain the circumstances surrounding the deaths of three women who were killed during a stampede at the church in December 2018.
The commission recommended that the church find a suitable venue to accommodate its congregants following a report by the Tshwane municipality that the church premises did not comply with safety regulations.
The church also branches outside South Africa including Zimbabwe, with one situated in Bulawayo. — Sowetan/Sunday Life Reporter.
