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Shepherd Bushiri (PHOTO: SHEPHERD BUSHIRI / FACEBOOK)
- Self-proclaimed prophet Shepherd Bushiri approached the High Court to stop Paseka ‘Mboro’ Motsoeneng from smearing him.
- The defamation charge follows a currency trading scheme that Bushiri got his followers to invest in.
- The matter was removed from the roll for lack of urgency.
The court offer of self-proclaimed prophet Shepherd Bushiri to gag another self-proclaimed prophet, Paseka ‘Mboro’ Motsoeneng, has been dropped because the request lacks urgency.
Bushiri addressed the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria in an attempt to stop Motsoeneng and others from smearing him for his involvement in a currency trading scam.
Bushiri’s attorney, Terrance Baloyi, confirmed to News24 that the matter was dismissed on Wednesday.
It was suggested that the matter could be re-inscribed on the normal list of opposing courts.
Mboro’s lawyer, Bukhosi Sibanda, also confirmed that the matter was dismissed, but added that it was dismissed with costs.
The court did not address the merits of the request.
In his founding affidavit, Bushiri, the leader of the Enlightened Christian Encounter (ECG), also quoted Felicia Sibeko and her husband, Arthur, who claimed they were defrauded by him.
The Daily Sun was also listed as a defendant in the matter.
Bushiri was seeking an injunction to prevent Mboro and others from vilifying him directly or indirectly, as well as a court order requiring respondents to remove and remove all statements, claims, articles, audio-visual recordings, and any references made to the ECG leader from all electronic and print media platforms.
The second part of the lawsuit, which had not yet been drafted, sought both declaratory relief and compensation for damages to his dignity, reputation, and “good name.”
Bushiri said that the statements released by those surveyed, including Mboro, are heinous, malicious, defamatory, false, offensive and hurtful.
Bushiri said:
These statements have already caused and continue to cause irreparable damage to my reputation and dignity, particularly as they appear online and are extremely broad in scope. They also constitute an invasion of my privacy.
At the heart of the app was the currency and commodity trading scheme that Bushiri got his followers to invest in.
In a statement, Felicia Sibeko said that she invested R130,000, which she earned by selling her taxi.
“Since the investment, my life has been ruined. He made to me and many other promises with huge returns, something that did not happen,” Sibeko said in court documents.
“I believed and prayed with Papa Bushiri and he took my money.”
Bushiri refuted the statement and gave his own version.
In 2017, Bushiri said that he also invested in the unstructured currency and commodity trading scheme, which, at the time, he believed was legitimate and promised lucrative returns.
“I later found out that this was not a legitimate investment plan. I was just a victim of the plan and not the mastermind behind it, as the respondents misleadingly describe it,” Bushiri said.
He added that while he has not recovered the money he personally invested, to date he has reimbursed his followers in the amount of R50 million.
Bushiri said his supporters cumulatively invested 100 million rand.
