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It looks like self-styled ‘prophet’ Shepherd Bushiri’s swindling days could be coming to an end.

After fleeing to Malawi when out on bail, in what quickly became a diplomatic nightmare between the countries, Shepherd and his wife Mary eventually handed themselves over to the authorities in Lilongwe yesterday, having claimed they feared for their lives in South Africa.

They are alleged to have committed fraud, money laundering, and contravened the Prevention of Organised Crime Act. They’ve supposedly been at it since 2015.

The couple has been flying under the radar for a while, but you can only stay hidden for so long when you’re flitting around in a private jet, driving luxury cars, and all-the-while claiming to perform miracles.

Observe, at the 4:53 mark:

And the Oscar goes to…

If they thought that heading to court was the worst of it, they were wrong.

City Press discovered on Saturday that the Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU), a branch of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), is also coming for them, filing a preservation order to seize their assets as soon as the criminal case against them has been finalised. The order could be granted as early as next week.

The AFU has appealed to the High Court in Pretoria for permission to seize the Bushiris’ private jet (parked in a private hangar at Lanseria Airport), massive properties, and luxury vehicles, including a  Maserati, a Rolls-Royce, an Astin Martin, and a R3 million Mercedes G63.

In 2017, Bushiri also bought his daughter a Maserati for her sixth birthday, which is a totally normal gift for a six-year-old.

If we listed all of the offences attributed to him we’d be here all day. Just know that there are millions of rands in play, which Bushiri claims for the most part were donations made to his ministry.

Instead, let’s head on over to Property360 to take a look at one of the assets that could be seized.

The five-bedroom house, apparently “speaks to the Prophet’s catchphrase ‘Power’ and he admits to enjoying every luxury in the home”.

No kidding:

Bushiri says that “at home, you relax. God will provide and we can just relax.”

Well, as they say: “He giveth, and he taketh away”.

Here’s an explainer of where legal action against the couple currently stands:

[source:citypress&property360]