Twitter ‘confirms’: Bushiri escape was an ‘international conspiracy’

South African Twitter had a field day on Saturday following the news of Shepherd Bushiri fleeing the country for Malawi.

The self-proclaimed pastor was out on bail of R200,000 and is facing fraud, theft and money laundering charges in connection with an investment scheme worth R102 million.

Coincidentally, President Cyril Ramaphosa hosted his Malawian counterpart Dr Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera on Friday for a working visit.

When news surfaced that Chakwera’s homeward flight was delayed by several hours, twitterati ‘joined the dots’.

UPDATE: WATCH – Fugitive Shepherd Bushiri confirms he is in Malawi, fears for his life

Off course, the speculation that the Malawian President helped the now fugitive pastor escape the country remains mere speculation.

But, that did not stop South Africans from making light of this “new information”. Luckily, Finance Mininister Tito Mboweni was able to bring some sanity to the thread.

UPDATE: SA kicks off fugitive Shepherd Bushiri’s extradition process with Malawi

Update: Chakwera’s spokesman Brian Banda told AFP that Bushiri was not on the presidential jet. “The allegation that Prophet Shepherd Bushiri came on the same flight with the president is false,” he said.

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