Pretoria firm seeks Bushiri settlement

As the financial woes mount for fugitive pastor Shepherd Bushiri, a Pretoria-based company has joined the long queue of entities seeking to liquidate the Shepherd Bushiri Ministries to recoup more than R1m he owes. City Press understands that PPS Property Fund Trust opted for litigation after the Malawian cleric allegedly breached a lease agreement for his Enlightened Christian Gathering Church premises in Hatfield, which served as his headquarters. The company, a trust controlled by PPS Insurance, approached the office of the Master of the High Court in Johannesburg last month to obtain an order that could see Bushiri’s assets auctioned off. In court documents filed on 21 May, PPS cited that Bushiri had signed a settlement deed binding him to pay R1 095 801 and an additional R995 707 for contractual damages in 2022. PPS also highlighted that Bushiri had been aware of the defaults because this was communicated to him and the process needed to remedy the situation.

The papers add that PPS had exhausted all reasonable attempts to engage with Bushiri in a fair process for him to settle its debt. The company also lamented that it sought to wind up Bushiri’s assets as a primary measure to recoup its losses. It listed Bushiri’s registered properties as in Blue Hills in Johannesburg and Waterkloof in Pretoria. Last December, City Press reported that the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) had ordered the sequestration of Bushiri’s assets to recover the R200m he owed to JM Busha Investment Group in loans. In addition, the South African Revenue Service last year demanded more than R70m in unpaid taxes. Bushiri made headlines in November 2021 when he and his wife Mary fled SA to Malawi after he was granted bail by the Pretoria Magistrate's Court, facing charges of money laundering and fraud. He is accused of orchestrating a ponzi scheme which allegedly targeted pension funds.

Full City Press report