Bushiri, wife & co-accused back in court over money laundering case

Self-proclaimed prophet Shepherd Bushiri and his wife Mary will appear in the Pretoria Central Magistrates Court on Monday for the continuation of their bail application.

The couple is currently facing charges of fraud, money laundering and contravention of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act amounting to the tune of R102 million.

They were arrested by Hawks last week.

Bushiri and his wife, as well as their co-accused began their bail application in court on Friday.

Their legal team claimed that they had done nothing wrong.

Their lawyer, Anneline van den Heever, argued that keeping them in custody would be so unfair.

“The State needs to act independently and exercise its discretion. When it laces fact before the court, they need to be open with the court, place all the facts before the court.”

“They are not there to just follow instructions from the investigating officer about bail.”

While they appear in court on Monday, the State is expected to give the court tangible reasons why the trio should not be granted bail.

On the other hand, the Home Affairs Department is expected to appeal the judgment that restricts the state from withdrawing Bushiri’s permanent residency status in South Africa.

The department wants the couple to clarify discrepancies in their application.

Watch live court proceedings: