When it rains, it pours and it seems to be pouring for the controversial Prophet Shepherd Bushiri and his wife Mary, who were arrested earlier this week on fraud charges and now stand accused of using fraudulent documents to enter and remain in South Africa.
The charges against Bushiri and his wife keep increasing by the day. At first, the church leaders were initially charged with fraud, money laundering, and theft, but the charges are set to increase and include contravening certain provisions of the Immigration Act.
New information is that the prophet and his wife can lose their permanent residence in South Africa after it was discovered that they fraudulently acquired it.
According to Home Affairs Minister Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi, the couple arrived in South Africa using visitor’s Visas in 2009. However, the couple contravened the law as they went on to register their companies and did business, which is something that is not permitted when someone is on a visitor’s Visa.
Dr. Motsoaledi went on to say that Bushiri misrepresented his application for permanent residence after he claimed that he arrived in the country in 2015 when in actual fact he arrived six years earlier in 2009.
With regards to the self-proclaimed prophetess, Mary Bushiri, she produced a 1997 issued permanent residency Visa which doesn’t tally with the fact that she entered the country with her husband in 2009, and later re-entered in 2012.
As the Home Affairs continue to probe, the couple’s permanent residency status in South Africa, the department has also issued the couple with a notice to explain their immigration discrepancies.
Meanwhile, the Home Affairs officials who served notices to the pair during their time of application have been suspended by the department pending an investigation.
