Man in possession of Bushiri’s ‘stolen’ vehicle nabbed at Beitbridge border

The man was arrested on Thursday and will appear in the Musina Magistrate’s Court soon.

The Hawks. Picture: Bloemfontein Courant.

The Hawks’ Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) have arrested a 35-year-old man at the Beitbridge port of entry, for being in possession of a suspected stolen vehicle.

According to a statement by Hawks Spokesperson, Colonel Katlego Mogale, the man was arrested on Thursday, 17 December and will appear in the Musina Magistrate’s Court soon.

“The man was arrested for being in possession of a suspected stolen vehicle. It is reported that a white van with six occupants, three males and three females, arrived at the port of entry and upon it being checked, it was discovered that it belonged to the Enlightened Christian Gathering (ECG) church founded by the fugitive, Shepherd Bushiri,” Mogale explained.

She said the occupants told the officials that they were on their way to a conference in Malawi.

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“The driver produced an affidavit bearing a signature of one of the church board members, which authorised the driver to drive the vehicle into Zimbabwe en route to Malawi,” she added.

The vehicle is, however, part of the assets attached to a Provisional Liquidation Order against Bushiri and his properties, including assets belonging to his church.

“It is suspected that the vehicle was being smuggled across the border under the guise of attending the conference.

“It also suspected that the liquidators were not informed about this activity and the driver was arrested as nothing belonging to the Bushiri estate is allowed to be taken from the Republic of South Africa to any other country,” Mogale explained.

This article first appeared on Review Online and was republished with permission.

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