Shepherd Bushiri's supporters outside the Pretoria Magistrates court where he is applying for bail, 23 October 2020. Picture: Nigel Sibanda.
Self-proclaimed prophet Shepherd Bushiri, his wife Mary and co-accused Landiwe Ntlokwana will spend the weekend behind bars after their bail application was postponed to Monday.
The trio appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Friday.
Magistrate Thandi Theledi earlier suggested the case be postponed for finalisation of the bail hearing because she had only heard the defence team’s argument.
But advocate Annelene van den Heever, for the accused, said “bail is always urgent”.
She told the court the accused should not be placed at a disadvantage because of institutional issues.
“We ask that the case be postponed to Monday.”
Theledi agreed to postpone it, but said she would deal with other cases on the roll first before dealing with their bail application.
She warned there was a possibility she might not hear the case on Monday.
Van der Heever responded, saying: “We are fully willing to sit and wait our turn.”
Outside court, scores of Bushiri’s followers sang and prayed ahead of and during his appearance.
They sang: “We are not going back without our Major 1.”
The crowd also carried placards displaying the couple’s faces.
Bushiri handed himself over to the Hawks following the arrest of his wife on Tuesday morning.
In a statement released on Tuesday, they said they had arrested four suspects for their alleged involvement in fraud and money laundering to the tune of R102 million, News24 reported.
The first couple to be arrested on Saturday was Willah and Zethu Mudolo who have also appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court.
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