Bushiri wins in South Africa court against jealousy foreigners: Judge orders no defamation on Facebook

South Africa-based Malawian prophet Shepherd Bushiri of the Enlightened Christian Gathering (ECG) scored a giant legal victory on Tuesday when the Gauteng High Court, in Pretoria, ruled in his favour that the organisers of Wednesday’s ‘False Prophets’ march should stop using the event to defame the name of the renowned man of God.

Prophet Bushiri socres legal victory

The court underlined that the organisers should stop referring to Prophet Bushiri in defamatory terms on their posters during the Johannesburg march.

Presiding Judge Elizabeth Kubushi also interdicted organisers of the #FakeProphetsMustFall march and Martins Antonio—accused of making some of the defamatory statements—from making them on Facebook regarding the prophet.

Further, the court also ruled that Antonio, together with Solomon Ashoms and Charles Farai, should also stop attacking Prophet Bushiri on their Facebook profiles.

The three have always been attacking Prophet Bushiri on their Facebook profiles on a series of unfounded accusations.

Hence, Judge Kubushi ordered the three to delete, within 12 hours, all the offensive statements regarding Bushiri from social media.

Bushiri, who is also the founder of the Shepherd Bushiri Ministries International, which has branches in Pretoria, turned to court to obtain an urgent interdict against the spreading of defamatory statements on social media against him.

The prophet was not in court on Tuesday, but he was well represented by two senior advocates Barry Roux SC, who defended Oscar Pistorius  and Mabasa Sibanda SC, as well as a string of lawyers.

Angolan Martins Antonio was the only one of the three respondents who opposed the interdict and who was present at Wednesday’s proceedings.

Neither Ashoms or Farai pitched at court, but Roux told Judge Kubushi that they were not opposing the application.

The two have already removed the offending statements from their social media profiles, he said.

Roux, however, said it was up to the court to in any event also to rule  against them, although they were not opposing the application.

“We fully understand freedom of speech, but our Constitution does not encourage unlawful conduct,” Roux argued.

He said the statements published regarding Bushiri were clearly defamatory.

Roux said Wednesday’s march against false prophets was a good march and Bushiri supported it. “It is something we need.”

But Roux said it cannot be tolerated that Bushiri’s good name is tainted in the process.

The prophet feared that posters would be displayed during the rally, which defamed him by linking him to criminal activities and by referring to him, among others, as the devil.

“This must stop,” Roux said.

He told the court that a letter of demand was send to the three respondents. While the other two did adhere to the demands, Antonio point blank refused, he said.

“Antonio has a bone to pick but he does not know where to stop,” Roux said.

Roux said Antonio was the author of the offending pamphlet, but Antonio’s advocate vehemently denied this. He blamed others, including the other two respondents, for the creation of the posters and the offending words.

Advocate Khelu Nondwango said Antonio cannot be held responsible for the material created on the poster, as he is not the author of the document.

He said all Antonio did was to publish the poster on social media to try and attract publicity for the march.

Antonio, in an interview with Pretoria News, said he is not organiser of Wednesday’s march.

He was simply invited “as one of victims who suffered under the accusations of the prophet.”

Antonio is from Angola, Charles Farai is from Zimbabwe while Ashoms is from Nigeria.

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MARJORIE KANDANGA
MARJORIE KANDANGA
6 years ago

HANDS OFF OUR AFRICAN SOIL PROPHET MAJOR 1 WE LOVE YOU LONG LEAVE MAN OF GOD DEVIL IS A LIAR

Molalagare Matlhomola
Molalagare Matlhomola
6 years ago

God of wonders did it for our father Major 1

Francis Quarshie
6 years ago

They’re failures. They’ll never triumph.

If they were Christians, they wouldn’t dare embark on such demonstration. What are they expecting about the outcome? To put the law into the hands of the innocent, so they would start another bloodshed and destruction of properties?

I will be surprised if those who think they’re Christians join the march.

God bless you, Prophet Shepherd Bushiri. You shall remain a winner forever because you’re a winner.

Francis
Ghana

Dikeledi
Dikeledi
6 years ago

They will keep on wasting money on organising marches, Buying people to lie about our Prophet ur father in the Lord but they will always lose, as we only bow down on our knees and pray to God to take over this and will always come out winners and victorious, as preaching the word of the Lord, saving people to ghee ting world is not a sin or Fake. we are more than conquerors.They can buy the law but God is not bought.God will fight ourbTtles till the end.Forward with the salvation we go.God bless our father major prophet Shepherd… Read more »

maddy
maddy
6 years ago

WE HAVE GOD WHO BEGGING UP, WE WILL WIN AND IT DOES NOT MATTER WHAT THEY DO, A LIE SHALL SPREAD FASTER AS OUR MOTHER SAY BUT THE TRUTH SHALL ALWAYS WIN! LET THEM USE THEIR LITTLE MONEY DO, TO DO WHAT THEY WANT TO DO, BUT IT WILL NEVER TOUCH OUR FATHER MAJOR ONE. lONG LIVE MAJOR ONE, LONG LIVE MAJOR ONE

Christabella
6 years ago

Papa your God is a true God the one sending to “US” only good news. My name have changed now they call me Wonderful.

thomani nkawane
thomani nkawane
6 years ago

you cannot fight grace and win

nico
nico
6 years ago

You use the law to fight my father he too can use the law to fight you

nico
nico
6 years ago

They all can gather to scatter,the stubborn will be dealt with just as prophet moses delt with pharaoh

Octavia Shermain Drigo
Octavia Shermain Drigo
6 years ago

No weapon fashioned against my prophet and papa shall prosper and every tongue that shall rise up against him in judgment he shall condemn. The bible says touch not my anointing and do my prophet no harm. If they continue, not only will the courts condemn them but God the Righteous Judge will judge. I love my papa and we support him in America and all over the world. ECG is not only in Africa. We are all over the world. They may try to stop those in Africa but they cannot stop his children, which are much more than… Read more »

Gabriel
Gabriel
6 years ago

In Jesus name.. he is a true prophet to me and that’s all what matters. For those that are striving to spread such wrong things against our father,god have mercy on them because they don’t know what they are doing AMEN

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