Drama expected as #ProphetBushiri and his wife to appear in court
|Published
Self-styled prophet Shepherd Bushiri and his wife Mary. Picture: Itumeleng English/African News Agency (ANA) Archives Self-styled prophet Shepherd Bushiri and his wife Mary. Picture: Itumeleng English/African News Agency (ANA) Archives
Pretoria - After spending three nights in custody, self-styled prophet Shepherd Bushiri and his wife Mary were expected to appear in court for fraud and money laundering on Monday.
Bushiri’s Enlightened Christian Church would not say whether churchgoers had been mobilised to picket outside the Pretoria Commercial Crime Court, where the couple were due to appear.
The Bushiris were arrested by the Hawks in Rustenburg on Friday for alleged fraud involving R15.3million, and for the contravention of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act, allegedly committed in 2015.
On Sunday, the church resumed with services at the Pretoria Showgrounds following a December 28 stampede that claimed the lives of three people.
Church spokesperson Ephraim Nyondo said the church wanted to focus on church matters and not what was happening in the courts.
“From the perspective of the church, we have nothing to do with what is happening in the court. We are just concentrating on the opening today and holding the service."
The Bushiris’ arrest comes after the church was cleared of non-compliance when the stampede happened.
The church is also being investigated for allegedly removing the bodies before police could arrive at the scene.
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