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By Sihle Mlambo 
1 hour ago
Johannesburg – Self-proclaimed prophet Shepherd Bushiri surrendered to police in Malawi when the Hawks in South Africa issued a second arrest warrant.
He had indicated in a statement that he would, but SABC News reported Wednesday that Enlightened Church leader Christian Gathering and his wife, Mary, had turned themselves in to police.
The Bushiri fled South Africa last week while facing charges of robbery, money laundering and fraud in connection with an alleged R 100 million investment plan.
They had been released on bail of 200,000 rand earlier this month, but last week the couple fled to their home country of Malawi. They confirmed his leak on Facebook Saturday morning.
On Monday, the Pretoria Magistrates Court granted the Hawks an arrest warrant for the Bushiris.
On Wednesday, the Hawks said the North Gauteng High Court issued arrest warrants for Bushiris who also faced charges of fraud and money laundering.
“At the time of their disappearance, Mr. and Mrs. Bushiri had posted bail of R200,000 each and were required to report regularly to the authorities as part of meeting the conditions of the bail.
“They were due to appear in court in January 2021.
“During today’s court proceedings, the matter was postponed until December 7, 2020 for the formal withdrawal of bail and forfeiture of the bail deposit,” said Hawks spokesman Col. Katlego Mogale.
“South Africa has initiated legal proceedings to ensure the extradition of the fugitives,” he said.
Writing on his Facebook account on Wednesday, Bushiri confirmed that he and his wife had five passports, but all had been turned over to the South African authorities.
Bushiri said he was not confident that he would get a fair trial in South Africa.
“The minister added that our permanent residence permits are irregular and therefore our stay in South Africa is illegal because my wife and I misrepresented the facts to induce his department to issue the permits and his department issued us incorrect permits due to your vigilance.
“That is why your department has decided to revoke our permits.
“This is just one of the many injustices that I feared would happen to my wife and me.
“This internal process is already prejudged by the minister before I present my statements on why our permits should not be revoked because we did not do anything wrong,” Bushiri said.
Bushiri said he had fled to Malawi not for political intervention because of his problems with the South African authorities, but to seek justice in the constitution of the Republic of Malawi.
“I strongly believe in the Constitution of Malawi because it protects all citizens, including my wife and myself.
“So this morning I will appear before law enforcement to explain and legally defend the decisions I made to come to Malawi.
“I am innocent until proven otherwise. As of now, there is no court in the world that has found me guilty. I may be subjected to public and media trial, but I maintain my innocence until proven guilty.
“It is regrettable, therefore, that the South African Home Secretary is intentionally and unfairly misleading the people of South Africa and the entire world in this regard. I cannot have a fair trial in South Africa, ”Bushiri said.
MESS
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