Home affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi on Tuesday likened reports that self-proclaimed prophet Shepherd Bushiri and his wife Mary had been slipping in and out of the country without a trace to that of the existence of the babies dubbed the “Thembisa 10".
“It looks like it is becoming common practice for the media to send the country on a merry-go-round to prove things that do not exist,” said Motsoaledi.
The minister, who was responding to questions at the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), was referring to a City Press report which claimed that Bushiri had again managed to flee from authorities in SA. According to the report, Bushiri was in SA in April and managed to flee before being arrested.
TimesLIVE reported that Hawks spokesperson Lt-Col Philani Nkwalase said that, according to their knowledge, Bushiri was in his home country of Malawi and that a process was under way to have him extradited to SA.
Motsoaledi lambasted the media, saying there was no proof that Bushiri was in SA. He likened the story to a recent report that a Thembisa woman had given birth to 10 babies. The government subsequently said that no such birth had been recorded in any hospital.