Bushiri vs Mboro court battle heats up

Self-proclaimed prophet Shepherd Bushiri has accused his fellow clergyman, Paseka ‘Mboro’ Motsoeneng’s, of being motivated by “jealousy and spite”.

Bushiri took Motsoeneng to the High Court in Pretoria this week in response to statements he describes as “defamatory”.

The statements in question emanate from allegations that Bushiri duped some of his congregants out of their life savings by getting them to invest in a dodgy Forex and trading commodities scheme and, in particular, from reports about 46-year-old Felicia Sibeko and her husband, Arthur, who claim they lost a total of R130,000.

Bushiri is posturing for a damages claim but in the meantime, he wants his detractors interdicted from defaming him and for the court to order that the offending statements be pulled from the various online platforms on which they currently appear.

UPDATE: Mboro wins this round, as Bushiri case struck off and slapped with cost order

Bushiri, too, claims to have been a victim of the scheme. He said in his court papers he had taken from his own pocket to repay those from his congregation who had lost money – including the Sibekos, whom he said he had paid back in two tranches of R65,000.

Members of the Enlightened Christian Gathering Church led by fraud and money laundering accused Prophet Shepherd Bushiri and his wife Prophetess Mary, show support by singing and praying outside the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Pretoria, 4 February 2019. Picture: Oupa Mokoena / African News Agency (ANA)

He blamed the negative publicity on “the expected jealousy and spite of other spiritual leaders,” who he said were envious of his success.

And when the case came before the court for hearing on Wednesday morning, Bushiri’s counsel, advocate Dali Mpofu SC, echoed these sentiments.

Mpofu kicked off his arguments talking about the right to dignity – which, he said, was, linked to the right not to be discriminated against.

“In South Africa, unlike in the United States, the right to freedom of expression is not unlimited,” Mpofu said. He pointed to the offending statements and said they painted Bushiri as “a fraudster, a thief, a liar”.

He said they also suggested Malawi-born Bushiri should “go home” and that they had xenophobic undertones.

“You have a toxic mix of pure defamation, laced – so to speak – with xenophobic remarks,” Mpofu said – adding the latter had “no place” in the country.

Mpofu said there was no dispute of facts.

Asked by the court if the funds in question had indeed been paid back, Mpofu said this was “the crux of the case” and that the statements were based on a “deliberate falsehood”.

“It’s now common cause they were paid back R135,000,” Mpofu said.

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