Hawks seize R5m Bushiri home in Centurion
The Hawks have been granted permission to seize a R5 million home in Centurion belonging to fugitives Shepard Bushiri and his wife Mary.
The Pretoria Magistrate’s Court handed down the ruling on Thursday.
The Bushiri couple was supposed to appear in court this morning on charges of fraud and money laundering, but skipped the country to Malawi last week.
This was in defiance of the strict bail conditions imposed on the self-proclaimed prophet and his wife.
They were both out on R200 000 bail.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Sipho Ngwema says the home will be attached by the state.
“The NPA welcomes the decision of the court to forfeit the property to the state given the fact that the property was the guarantee the accused put down in terms of their bail conditions. Therefore, as part of the process, they had to forfeit that property and that was confirmed by the court today.
“We have confidence in the legal processes to bring back the two who are now fugitives from justice. In good time they should be back in South Africa to face those charges. They can run but not hide.”
Ngwema says the couple must not think they are off the hook.
“One day they will come to South Africa and face the charges. We should give them an opportunity to respond to the allegations put before them, so that in the end the court can decide their innocence or guilt with regards to the charges put before them.”
