Shepherd Bushiri: Prophet or Charlatan?
By Leo Igwe
There is nothing ‘enlightened’ about him and his so called Enlightened Christian Gathering Church (ECG). The Malawi born Shepherd Bushiri is a prophetic disaster that has exploded on the faces of believing folks in Southern Africa.
And people in the region need to wake up and resist every initiative by this roving con artist to dupe and exploit them. Addressed as the ‘man of the moment’, ‘major prophet’, ‘prophet of the most high’, Shepherd Bushiri is a charlatan by any stretch of imagination.
He markets a prosperity gospel narrative that only prospers the shepherd and pauperizes the sheep. But the question is: Do the sheep know? Bushiri uses his church- which is headquartered in Malawi with branches in South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Tanzania, Namibia and Ethiopia to spread ignorance, darkness and deception.
He issues fake prophecies and miracle schemes to enhance the church’s visibility, exploit gullible people, and of course raise enough money to purchase a jet, the Shepherd Bushiri Aircraft. One of his most recent controversial miracle claims was that he ‘walked on air’.
Yes Bushiri claims he walked on air and recorded it in a video. However the video of Bushiri walking on air only shows the legs of an unidentified man dangling as if the man is holding onto something to support himself.
The video does not show a complete image of the person who is supposed to have walked on air. So why didn’t Bushiri reveal himself fully ‘walking on air’?
Still he claims ‘walking on air’ is a feat which he could easily perform. But if Bushiri can easily walk on air, why did he purchase a jet? Why is flying around the region in an aircraft? If he could ‘walk on air’ why has he not tried walking off the jet while it is up in the air? Surely a man who walks on air does not need to fly around in a jet, does he?
Bushiri also claims to have healed a couple of HIV:
“Today a couple testified that after undergoing an HIV test it was discovered that they tested positive for HIV. After seeking medical assistance to treat this disease they decided to visit ECG to ask the man of God; prophet Shepherd Bushiri for a special prayer of Healing. After being prayed for by the man of God; prophet Shepherd Bushiri they went back for a second medical test and this time it was discovered that they tested negative to HIV”
Now if Bushiri could pray and turn HIV positive into negative, what is he waiting for? Why has he not extended the ‘special prayer’ to other HIV positive individuals and couples in the region?
In a country and region that is ravaged by HIV/AIDS, this reckless claim could undermine efforts to combat this deadly virus. So critical thinking people in the region should challenge Bushiri and get him to demonstrate the efficacy and veracity of his claims or be sanctioned.
It is interesting to know that on his Church’s web site, Bushiri made it clear that “The year 2014 has been wonderful and exciting, we have seen God (sic) work through prophecies, healing and deliverance.
“The lame walked, the blind received their sight, the deaf and mute were able to hear and speak! Broken hearts were healed as we saw God touching and restoring broken marriages, lost jobs, locating missing relations through prophecies, it was a year of heavenly intervention”
Of course, with the purchase of a jet, 2015 is set to be another fakeful year of dubious prophecies and miracle schemes. However we can stop this fakeful year from coming to pass through skeptical activism.
We can still make 2015 a turning point for reason, science and evidence based knowledge in Malawi and in other parts of Southern Africa where Bushiri is sowing the seeds of dogma, deception and fraud.
So I enjoin all skeptics and critical thinking people in Southern Africa to speak out; they should debunk his dubious claims and put in place proactive measures to expose this rabble rousing prophet and charlatan.
