‘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.