Africa-Press – South-Africa. Prophet Shepherd Bushiri is a man who means many different things to different people, and his every word and action always draws stark polar contrasts. He is loaded with contradiction and paradox, and the jury is out on what kind of a man he truly is, writes Maynard Manyowa.
Prophet Shepherd Bushiri is a complex man. There are those that will swear that he is a cunning and devious man who fled from justice. And there are those who will swear the opposite, arguing passionately, that he is a soft-spoken man who was blackmailed, extorted, and then persecuted.
In some ways, that is vintage Bushiri. He is a man who means many different things to different people, and his every word and action always draws stark polar contrasts. He is loaded with contradiction and paradox, and the jury is out on what kind of a man he truly is.
The man thousands call Daddy
I was his media relations manager for several years. During that time I started to called Bushiri Dad. I am not the only one. Much to my surprise, many other people also kneel for Bushiri and call him father.
Much has been made of this gesture on social media platforms and in the media, especially when grown men with white hair knelt and wept as Bushiri appeared in the Commercial Crimes Court in Pretoria in 2020.
I personally lost count of the number of people who questioned why members of the Jesus Nation Church (previously Enlightened Christian Gathering Church) referred to Bushiri as Dad.
Some bible verses were thrown around about how no other man can be called Father except God himself. But these are religious debates for another day. The point is 7.5 million members of the Jesus Nation church kneel for Bushiri and call him father.
In my case, I voluntarily knelt before Bushiri. I called him Dad not to fit in, but because he truly was like a parent to me. My biological father, a military man who served in over three wars, died tragically in 2001. My transition into teenagerhood and, much later, adulthood was punctuated by a void that I could neither describe nor fill. That was until Bushiri (not his money) showed up.
How Bushiri earned the right to be called my Dad
When I first worked for Bushiri, he drew a clear distinction between work matters and personal issues. He would often summon me to Sheraton Hotel, in Pretoria, or later, to his posh Sparkling Waters Resort Spa in Rustenburg.
Often, I would show up, iPad ready, assuming it’s a work retreat, only for him to offer an hour or two of dialogue.
He wanted to know how I was coping, how my wife and children were doing. He pushed me to consider doing a Masters in Journalism, which he offered to pay for, and much later, a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).
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Bushiri wanted to know everything about my personal life in detail, and he wanted to help, give advice, and encourage me.
Bushiri may have micromanaged his staff, but he wanted to shepherd (pun intended) and parent everyone who submitted to him.
In the near seven years I worked for him, Bushiri was my boss by all accounts, but also my father and mentor. And it did not stop with me.
No matter how much time it took, Bushiri tried to make sure every church member or staff was able to approach him for his counsel, encouragement, and leadership – just the way a father would.
The jury is still out on this practice, however.
Several critics, and rightly so, have expressed concern that such levels of blind submission can lead to abuse. In Bushiri’s case, this ended in allegations of actual abuse.
Critics insist that people who kneel for Bushiri or call him father are either ignorant or stand to benefit from it financially. I am neither of those, and my wife and I voluntarily knelt and submitted entirely to Bushiri for reasons I maintain are justifiable.
And believe it or not, I do not regret this. After our professional relationship ended, I swore to keep the personal one intact.
A shrewd tactician or a generous clergyman
On 9 March, 2017, Bushiri flew me to Lilongwe, Malawi. The purpose of that trip was to familiarise me with Malawian journalists and help market Bushiri’s nationwide charity tour.
Organised by his Beacon of Hope Foundation, Bushiri committed $3.7 million USD (R53 million) of maize meal to alleviate severe food shortages that the UN warned could lead to famine in the country.
That trip would be the first of many. And in December of that same year, Bushiri spent Christmas dining with street kids and homeless people in Blantyre and Malawi. I was also flown to Malawi for that trip, where I would meet Bushiri’s daughters for the first time.
Throughout the years, Bushiri demonstrated an extreme generosity. His Shepherd Bushiri Foundation, run by his brother-in-law and celebrity musician Duncan ‘Gwamba’ Zgambo, spent at least R584 million on charitable donations between 2017 and 2020.
The donations, described by some quarters as ‘public relations on steroids’ gained prominence in the media after Bushiri and his wife were arrested by the Hawks. The couple fled the country to their homeland of Malawi in November 2020, just a few days after the Pretoria Central Magistrate’s Court granted them R200 000 bail each.
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One commentator called Bushiri shrewd and calculating, while another called the donations “attempts to win the hearts of South Africans”. There were even people who boldly proclaimed Bushiri, like politicians, had stolen billions from people and then given them peanuts in return.
Bushiri has never been charged with theft. He is wanted in South Africa in connection with fraud and money laundering, allegedly to the tune of R102 million. But this has nothing to do with the questions surrounding his charitable donations. The logic, it appears, is that Bushiri was supposedly robbing his 3.6 million South African members on the pulpit. In the years I worked for him, this however, just wasn’t the case. I will explain below.
Enriching the masses or robbing the poor?
Bushiri preaches a contemporary version of prosperity gospel that is targeted at poor and disenfranchised people. He promises congregants that God rewards loyalty and faithfulness and that Christians should not be poor.
The basis of his prosperity teaching that he calls “Tusheer” encourages poor people to “to work, labour and toil, night and day, using Godly principles”. There is very little on offer for the rich and wealthy.
In my experience, despite garnering crowds that consistently breached 35 000 congregants on Sunday services, Bushiri’s finance team would battle to raise R25 000 from offerings.
The church did not have the capacity to afford rentals for Tshwane Showgrounds, which were nearly a million rand. By all accounts, the church was a loss-making entity that could not afford to pay its own bills, often needing Bushiri to personally step in and pay.
The latest census data, released around July 2021 showed Bushiri had just over 7.8 million registered users who paid tithes and had two-way interactions with Bushiri himself or church elders.
It is impossible to speak of the personal circumstances of each and every one of them, but I know from experience that people follow Bushiri looking for prosperity and riches, not to donate.
A separate dialogue exists however, for the evangelical partners, who as off July last year stood at a staggering 1,005,231. But it is hard to imagine that 7,816,243 people are being hoodwinked by Bushiri.
Fugitive or Refugee?
Shepherd Bushiri’s Wikipedia describes him as a fugitive first. It reads that, “Shepherd Bushiri also known as Major 1 is a Malawian fugitive, Christian preacher, self-proclaimed prophet, businessman, motivational speaker, and author.”
It adds, “Bushiri is on the run in Malawi after skipping bail in South Africa where he faced charges of rape, fraud and money laundering.”
Bushiri fled South Africa, claiming his life was at risk and that he wasn’t guaranteed a fair trial or due process. I want to avoid speculating on matters that are ‘subjudice’ but Bushiri has claimed he was poisoned in custody after his second arrest.
He was first arrested in 2019, but his trial never kicked off. His appearances were marred by postponement after postponement, and the state routinely asked for more time to gather witnesses or collect evidence. Bushiri’s legal team often complained that an arrest should only happen after the police have gathered evidence, not the other way around.
Nonetheless, after his second arrest, Bushiri returned to his home country, where he remains. Those that follow him, and love him, believe this was the best decision. South Africa’s correctional services deny that Bushiri was poisoned in their custody, but doctors that treated him South Africa and Malawi say otherwise.
On the other hand, several people point out that by fleeing from whatever injustice he faced, Shepherd Bushiri traversed the line of innocent man to criminal. Only time will tell if Bushiri will be absolved of the charges he faced, and only in time will we know which legacy will live longest; Bushiri the preacher or Bushiri the fugitive.
The jury is out
Shepherd Bushiri is not stupid. Or at least, as his record would indicate. It is hard to imagine an idiot amassing power and wealth in fields as diverse as property, consultancy, oil, and mining. He is a former commoner whose life has been punctuated by one meteoric rise after another and who rose from obscurity to stardom.
And yet if Bushiri is no fool, there is something needlessly and extraordinarily puzzling about the scandals that have blemished him at every turn. It is difficult to understand his lifestyle, his choices, and his problems.
In one video, men can be seen cleaning his feet and kneeling for him, giving he impression he is a slave master. In other instances, his persistent boasting has led to questions about his humility.
Yet his generous charity, and dedication to personally shepherding his staff and members mean millions of people, like me, see him in a different light.
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Maynard Manyowa is a journalist based in Manchester, England. he worked as Shepherd Bushiri’s external media relations manager for six years. His book, “Prophet”, on Bushiri, is due for release in December 2022.
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