‘Night of prayer’ outside Lumbadzi Police where Bushiris were detained: Couple seek court bail
Hundreds of Malawians held a vigil on Wednesday night at Lumbadzi Police Station in Lilongwe where head of the Enlightened Christian Gathering (ECG) church Prophet Shepherd Bushiri and his wife Mary Bushiri spent a night in custody.
They sang song of worship, praise and they were all in high spirits.
In an interview, one of the people, who came for Mchinji, said he couldn’t stand seeing the Prophet in custody and all he could do was to humble himself and stay the night close to the police station.
“My son was sent back from school. But Prophet Bushiri volunteered to pay school fees for him. There is no way I can show my love to him apart from coming to stand with him,” he said.
Random interviews revealed that the people came on their own after a word slipped about the Prophet where abouts.
One of the lawyers for the preacher, Khumbo Bonzoe Soko said the police are yet to formally charge him.
“My clients have not been charged. I hope they will be brought to court this Thursday because the law says suspects should be charged within 48 hours after an arrest,” said Soko.
On Wednesday, dozens of Bushiri followers who gathered at the magistrates court in Lilongwe to give their leader morale were dispersed by church leaders late in the evening after it was clear Bushiri would not be appearing before the court.
Bushiri and his wife jumped bail on South Africa where they were answering charges of fraud and money laundering.
“He is not a fugitive,” said Bushiri’s spokesman Ephraim Nyondo.
“He is in Malawi to seek justice, which he believes he cannot be accorded in South Africa.”
The couple were known for their lavish lifestyle in South Africa.
South Africa is scrambling to establish how Bushiri escaped from the country and has initiated legal proceedings to secure his extradition.
“The Bushiri matter has been very concerning to all of us,” South African President Cyril Ramaphosa told local news channel ENCA.
Ramaphosa said he was expecting a “detailed report on the whole Bushiri saga … then we’ll see what action needs to be taken because it should never have happened the way it did”.
“We are going to take action, that’s for sure,” he said.
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Why don’t you pray for the people coned by this crook? Fools.
Wakwiba uyu. Nkhungu iyi. What on earth has he done apart from stealing from the poor and the sick. He claims to have cured HIV/AIDS patients. These days there are no AIDS patients as most people are on medication. Apart from stealing from HIV people, the prophets tell them to stop medication and put faith in the fake water they sell. In the end the immunity goes and it becomes too late to go back to the medication. The sick die because of the madness of these prophets.
……. and no complaints comes from them since they died.
False prophet
kwathu kuno munthu wavindalama komatu ma loya thoooo ati kuti asamangidwe. kha tinakhala bwanji ambuli ifeyo!!!!
Mbava ndi mbava basi
Mbava ndi zimene zaba property yake worth 5.5 million rands mulandu usanthe. Ndizimene ankafuna anachita bwino kubwera kuno RSA sidziko lopangirako investment. Pure Xenophobia
Last time I was in Gehenna, I met Mr Bushiri and someone looking like Mary. I am likely to meet them again. In the valley.
Not a Fugitive??? I give up… Fraud case aside… he skipped the country illegally for that matter.. And has got an arrest warrant on his head.
From the South African end he may be classified as a fugitive to them but from within Malawi he is back in his home country.
I am a Bushiri follower. Sometimes it is good to keep quiet. Do not defend someone for the sake of defending. Charles, you mean it is acceptable for your child to go rob or steal from other households but so long as he comes back to your house, then nothing happened. Does the bible say that?
Who even asked you to start???
He is back home.Am happy with that.
In all senses Bushili is a fugitive running away from the law enforcement agents of a country he stayed as home. Guilty or innocent, safe or unsafe thats the point courts will establish. As a Malawian government and all of us need to protect our own. But if he is guilty then he must be punished accordingly. That too the courts will establish. Remember Christians are good citizens. No two ways about it.