{"id":50734,"date":"2026-02-24T17:12:54","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T17:12:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/?p=50734"},"modified":"2026-02-24T17:12:54","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T17:12:54","slug":"utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignshepherd-bushiri-calls-south-africa-immigration-probe-a-witch-hunt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/2026\/02\/24\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignshepherd-bushiri-calls-south-africa-immigration-probe-a-witch-hunt\/","title":{"rendered":"Shepherd Bushiri calls South Africa immigration probe a \u2018witch-hunt\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"mvp-content-main\">&#13;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_189411\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-189411\" class=\"wp-image-189411 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Shepherd-Bushiri-calls-South-Africa-immigration-probe-a-%E2%80%98witch-hunt.jpg?resize=600%2C450&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Shepherd-Bushiri-calls-South-Africa-immigration-probe-a-\u2018witch-hunt.jpg 600w, https:\/\/fakazanews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Shepherd-Bushiri-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-189411\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shepherd Bushiri says SIU probe \u2018claimed an innocent life\u2019<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Prophet Shepherd Bushiri has issued a strongly worded statement addressing ongoing scrutiny surrounding his South African immigration status, accusing the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) of pursuing what he describes as an unjust campaign against him.<\/p>\n<p>In a statement released on Tuesday, Bushiri maintained that he did not apply for his immigration status within South Africa, but through official channels at the South African Embassy in Malawi.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI did not apply for my immigration status in South Africa. I applied through the South African Embassy in Malawi. My documents were submitted in Malawi, long before we came to South Africa permanently, and not through any church member in South Africa,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Bushiri further claimed that his application was approved in line with South African immigration laws, arguing that he qualified on the basis of substantial financial investment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur applications were lawfully approved under South African law, which grants immigration status to individuals who make a substantial investment in the country, over R10 million. By the time I applied, I had already invested more than R90 million in South Africa. This was not a favour. It was not an exception. It was the law,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n<p>According to Bushiri, he and his wife were formally contacted by the embassy to collect their permits after approval and did not rely on intermediaries to secure documentation.<\/p>\n<p>He also addressed the case of a former immigration officer who was previously linked to the matter.<\/p>\n<p>Bushiri alleged that the official was arrested and dismissed from his position due to suspicions that he had facilitated their permits because of church ties.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAn innocent man was arrested, an immigration officer whose only \u2018crime\u2019 was that he was a member of our church,\u201d Bushiri said, adding that the official was \u201cbrutally treated\u201d and lost his job.<\/p>\n<p>He further claimed that the officer died last week.<\/p>\n<p>Bushiri criticised authorities for allegedly issuing a statement suggesting the officer had admitted to wrongdoing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBefore his body was even laid to rest, a statement was rushed out claiming that he had admitted to issuing us permits illegally. They spoke for him only once they were sure he could no longer speak for himself,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>The preacher also questioned the timeline of the investigation, noting that he and his wife were charged with immigration-related offences six years ago.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf this investigation is only emerging now, why were we arrested then? Do you arrest people in order to investigate, or do you investigate in order to arrest?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n<p>Describing the situation as \u201cnot justice\u201d and \u201cnot due process,\u201d Bushiri concluded by labelling the matter a \u201cwitch-hunt\u201d that he believes has already \u201cclaimed an innocent life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The SIU has yet to publicly respond to Bushiri\u2019s latest claims.<\/p>\n<p><!-- CONTENT END 4 -->\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p><script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n#Shepherd #Bushiri #calls #South #Africa #immigration #probe #witchhunt<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#13; Shepherd Bushiri says SIU probe \u2018claimed an innocent life\u2019 Prophet Shepherd Bushiri has issued a strongly worded statement addressing&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":50735,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50734","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mzansi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50734","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50734"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50734\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50736,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50734\/revisions\/50736"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50734"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}