Enlightened Christian Gathering (ECG) leader Shepherd Bushiri says he does not want political intervention in his ongoing court case in South Africa, where he faces prosecution over alleged fraud and money laundering.
Instead, the church leader, who returned to Malawi with his wife Mary last November under mysterious circumstances, has said he is seeking constitutional intervention as a Malawian citizen.
He made the remarks on Tuesday at Zolokere in Hewe, Rumphi, where he handed over Vwaza Community Day Secondary School (CDSS) to government and community members. The school was built by his Shepherd Bushiri Foundation.
The South African Government formally wrote Malawi Government to extradite the Bushiris to that country and the hearing of that case commences on March 8 this year before a magistrate’s court in Lilongwe.
Said Bushiri: “I am not facing the challenges I was facing while in South Africa. So far, there hasn’t been any extortion, no police officer has come to me to ask about money, there hasn’t been any death threats for me and my wife. I came to present myself to the Constitution of this country, and the law. I am abiding to that and so far it has been a wonderful stay.
“I haven’t had any meeting with any government authority since my return because my coming is not to do with political intervention. I came here seeking constitutional intervention as a citizen. So, much of my consultations have been legal with my lawyers to ensure that I am protected. I have not had any meeting with any government official.”
On the school, Bushiri said he felt duty bound to construct the school as one way of helping increase access to education, but also reduce the distance that children around the area used to walk.
Apart from paying fees for all the 110 students in Forms One and Two, Bushiri has also pledged to buy four motorcycles to ease teachers movement, pay for the school to become an examination centre as well as meet library and laboratory needs in February.
A representative of the district education manager, Gibbie Mulagha, hailed Bushiri for the cause, stating that it will go a long way towards improving access to quality education in the district.
The 2017/18 Annual Statistical Report on Education, depicted a hazy picture of the country’s education system, outlining a plethora of problems that require immediate attention.
It said the sector is faced with infrastructural challenges, so much so that 55 882 teachers do not have houses, many classes are conducted in open spaces and 3.7 percent of schools have no access to water while many others use rivers and other unprotected sources.
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