Shepherd Bushiri and his wife Mary get bail of R200,000 each

04 November 2020 - 11:14 By shonisani tshikalange
subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now
Supporters of pastor Shepherd Bushiri and his wife Mary outside the Pretoria magistrate's court on November 4 2020.
Supporters of pastor Shepherd Bushiri and his wife Mary outside the Pretoria magistrate's court on November 4 2020.
Image: Emile Bosch/TimesLIVE

Enlightened Christian Gathering (ECG) church leader Shepherd Bushiri and his wife Mary were on Wednesday granted bail of R200,000 each by the Pretoria magistrate's court.

The couple and their three co-accused face fraud and money laundering charges related to an investment scheme valued at about R102m.

They were arrested in October.

LISTEN | Shepherd Bushiri and his wife Mary get bail of R200,000 each

Subscribe for free: iono.fm | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Pocket Casts | Player.fm

Their co-accused were granted bail ranging from R20,000 to R100,000.

Earlier in the day, supporters carrying portraits of the self-proclaimed prophet dropped to their knees outside court to pray for Bushiri.

People displayed photos of the self-proclaimed prophet outside court.
People displayed photos of the self-proclaimed prophet outside court.
Image: Emile Bosch/TimesLIVE

Others sang songs from behind wire fencing erected by police to keep the crowds under control.

Alex Chikakuda said he had come to court to stand in solidarity with the “man of God”.

“I am a foreigner in this land, I have faced a lot of challenges, but since I discovered the prophet in Pretoria, I started attending the church. I started to experience change. Things just started to happen in terms of getting a job. This started changing drastically,” he said.

The 29-year-old was convinced the Bushiris would get bail: “I think he is innocent. He is a man of God.”

This is a developing story.

TimesLIVE

Enlightened Christian Gathering (ECG) church leader Shepherd Bushiri, his wife Mary and two co-accused were granted bail in the Pretoria magistrate's court on November 4 2020. While another accused has not yet applied for bail, all five of the accused have been charged with fraud, theft and money laundering.


subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now