How Bushiri scammed SA believers
Members of his church are speaking out about how they invested money in his scheme
IT APPEARS that self-proclaimed prophet and miracle worker Shepherd Bushiri lied about audit firm KPMG and South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
Members of his Enlightened Christian Gathering (ECG) Church are also speaking out about how they invested millions of rand in a scheme that saw their money end up in Malawi.
The fugitive televangelist was charged with corruption and money laundering in 2020 but skipped South Africa after getting bail.
Last week, Bushiri claimed that the NPA’s Sbongile Mzinyathi flew to Malawi to defend him and not to argue for his extradition to South Africa.
The Department of Justice, however, did not take Bushiri’s comments lying down.
Department spokesperson Chrispin Phiri said: “Rubbish! The NPA doesn’t defend people, it prosecutes them.”
So far, 17 people have confirmed to The Star that they deposited money in Bushiri’s investment programme and they didn’t see a cent in return.
A fraud case was opened by Lindiwe Ngubane-Mbatha at the Sandton police station on January 31, 2019. NgubaneMbatha alleged that she had attended an investment seminar in Sandton on March 18, 2017, at which Bushiri introduced a person known as “Landi” as the investment programme’s project manager.
Ngubane-Mbatha claimed that she was cheated out of a million rand by Bushiri.
KPMG, in a damning report, stated that at the said investment seminar Bushiri introduced people to the “Investment Programme”. KPMG did not mention a company called Rising Estate Limited. However, last week Bushiri said Rising Estate Limited was the beneficiary of the millions of rand.
The Hawks refuted Bushiri, saying their information proved that close to R200 million “was sent to Malawi through different mechanisms” and that Rising Estate Limited, a company that Bushiri invited as an investor, had done nothing wrong.
Media outlet Malawi24 reported that Bushiri was purchasing a Boeing aircraft.
The funds of the aircraft are believed to be the millions of rand collected from unsuspecting South African believers
On arrival in Malawi, he was photographed with a Porsche, a Rolls-Royce and other luxury cars.
According to the KPMG report, Bushiri announced an investment opportunity during his sermon in 2017.
He explained that the investment scheme was called the “Shepherd Bushiri Trading Platform” and said the investment related to commodity and forex trading.
Bushiri informed his ECG Church’s congregation that the investment capital amount would double within one month (with higher multiples disclosed at other times). The minimum investment amount was set at R100 000.
Bushiri hired top criminal lawyer Annelene van den Heever to get him bail. Van den Heever claimed that her client was not a flight risk. However, Bushiri skipped the country.
Van den Heever has also represented now-convicted taxi boss Vusi “Khekhe” Mathibela.
She is now representing the four men accused of the murder of musician Kiernan “AKA” Forbes.
One of the investors, Felicia Sibeko, wrote to The Star pleading for help after the ECG Church failed to pay her a return on her ‘investment’.