Hawks pounce on Prophet Bushiri, wife
The Hawks arrested the leader of Enlightened Christian Gathering Church, Prophet Shepherd Bushiri, and his wife in Rustenburg, North West on Friday.
The prophet and his wife Mary Bushiri are facing charges of fraud and money laundering.
Bushiri’s spokesperson Maynard Manyowa says the couple was arrested around 7 am on Friday.
"We were later made aware that they were members of the Hawks, they took the prophet and our mother prophetess Mary Bushiri in handcuffs to Pretoria.
"As you will remember, from last year, we have struggled with reports that our father was guilty. We have repeatedly learnt from different media houses that we were under investigation.”
Hawks spokesperson Hangwani Mulaudzi confirmed that a prophet and his wife were arrested on Friday but said they can't name the suspects until they have appeared in court.
"They were arrested in Rustenburg today on allegations of fraud, money laundering and the contravention of the prevention of organised crimes act which was committed in 2015
"We can't name the names of the suspects until they have appeared in court.
The couple is expected to appear in the Pretoria Commercial Crimes court on Monday.