Prophet Shepherd Bushiri says fleeing South Africa in 2020 was “the best decision” he could have made, insisting he considers himself a refugee who was being targeted.
Bushiri and his wife escaped to Malawi while on R200 000 bail.
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In an interview with eNCA, he alleged that senior police officials, including former Hawks head General Godfrey Lebeya, were involved in attempts to extort him for millions of rand.
“The best thing I did was leave the country… There is an international law that allows you. If you are a refugee running from war, you are allowed to leave the country unlawfully.”
Bushiri alleges that senior police officials attempted to extort money from him while he was in South Africa, specifically naming former Hawks chief General Godfrey Lebeya among them.
He added: “There was a certain gentleman who is also, I think, a general in the Hawks. His name is Paul [Ramoloko] and this man said he can take the matter to the head of the Hawks, he can take the matter to Lebeya.
“So this poor guy, he went to one of my bodyguards to say you can meet him at the farm. After the meeting, Mr Paul said, ‘Okay’. He said, ‘for your boss to be free, if you can arrange something, that will be given to him’”.
Lebeya denied ever meeting Bushiri, saying the pastor has repeatedly changed his story.
“He has been changing his story. I have listened to him, the story that he is putting forward today, alleging that I have summoned him to my farm and to my house.”
“He has previously said that it was General Sibiya. He has now changed to say that it’s Lebeya,” Lebeya said.
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Despite facing criminal charges, Bushiri claims his popularity has surged, saying his Enlightened Christian Gathering Church has grown to more than two million registered members in South Africa, with branches in major cities including Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban and Cape Town.
