The Bushiris intend to plead not guilty on all the charges, claiming they are yet to be informed of exactly what they have done wrong.
Members of the Enlightened Christian Gathering (ECG) came out in support of self-proclaimed prophet, Shepherd Bushiri, and his wife Mary Bushiri, who appeared at the Pretoria Magistrates Court on 21 October 2020 on fraud and money laundering charges. Picture: Xanderleigh Dookey/EWN
PRETORIA – Self-proclaimed Prophet Shepherd Bushiri says he did nothing wrong.
Bushiri, his wife, Mary, and a member of his church, Landiwe Ntlokwana, appeared in the Pretoria Magistrates Court on Friday for a bail application.
The trio has been charged with fraud, money laundering and contravention of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act, amounting to R102 million. They were arrested earlier this week.
Bushiri’s supporters came to court in their numbers to show their support.
The Bushiris intend to plead not guilty on all the charges, claiming they are yet to be informed of exactly what they have done wrong.
During their bail application, their lawyer Anneline van Den Heever told the court that they should be released on bail, motivating that they have no previous convictions and they don’t intend to evade trial since they have properties in South Africa.
They will spend the weekend at the Kgosi Mampuru prison and are due back in court on Monday when the state is expected to respond to the defence.
