Shepard Bushiri- Biography; Preacher, Prophet, Businessman, Motivational Speaker

Shepherd Bushiri is a preacher, prophet, businessman, motivational speaker, and author from Malawi. He was born on February 20, 1983, and is also known as Major 1.

He is a controversial person who became well-known after a video of him walking in the air was made public. Later, Bushiri’s former public relations manager said that Bushiri faked wonders to get attention from the media.

Bushiri runs the South African-based Enlightened Christian Gathering, which is a passionate evangelical Christian church with no specific denomination. The church’s main office is in Pretoria, South Africa, and there are branches all over Africa and the rest of the world. Every day, tens of thousands of people are drawn to the church. He says that the church is a Prophetic Ministry based on the idea that “God cares about and loves people and wants to talk to them directly.”

Shepherd Bushiri Investments, which is Bushiri’s investment company, has been charged with fraud, money laundering, and other crimes. Several of its assets have been seized by the police after a ponzi scheme it ran failed and scammed pensioners. Fraud charges were also brought against the company in the United States.

The company is based in Sandton, which is close to Johannesburg. It has stakes in 27 or more mines, forex trading, real estate, and the airline business. He also owns a TV station, a phone company, several farms, properties, sports academies, and colleges. As a young man, Bushiri went into business to help his community and the work of the church around the world. His rise to wealth has been called “meteoric.” He got rich by using new ways to do business in different fields.

Early years

Bushiri was born and raised in Mzuzu, which is a Tumbuka town in the north of Malawi. His mother gave him the name Shepherd because of how hard it was for him to be born. She did this to show that the Lord was her Shepherd.

He goes all over the world to teach, predict, and heal at crusades and other meetings. In August 2018, he was a guest of honour at South Africa’s National Day of Inter-faith Prayer at the Emirates Airline Stadium in Johannesburg, where he prayed for peace and togetherness. South Africa’s Vice President David Mabuza and some of the most important religious leaders in South Africa were there.

Given Name Controversy

In February 2019, The Citizen reported that Bushiri was born as Chipiliro Gama; “an invoice mistakenly sent to Baloyi Attorneys did not use the popular name Shepherd Bushiri, and instead called him Chipiliro Gama.” In February 2019, The Sunday Times reported that Bushiri’s parents, Huxley and Cristina, who were both born in Zambia, raised him as Chipiliro Gama.

In September 2019, Ephraim Nyondo, who works as a spokesperson and communications head for Bushiri, said that the claims were not true.

Career

Bushiri is now known as one of the world’s richest preachers and one of Africa’s wealthiest people. Prophet Uebert Angel, who runs the Good News Church in the UK and is worth a lot of money, helps him. People say that Bushiri is the most famous and well-known “spiritual son” of Prophet Angel.

Enlightened Christian Gathering Church

The Enlightened Christian Gathering church is said to be one of the churches in Africa and around the world with the fastest growth. The church was started by Bushiri. He has started churches and is in charge of them in South Africa, Malawi, Ghana, South Sudan, and other places. The BBC has talked to him on TV, and Al Jazeera, New African, Nigerian Tribune, and African Leadership magazine have all written about him.

On the night of December 28, 2018, people running away from a storm caused a stampede at the ECG Church that killed three people and hurt nine others. Bushiri’s spokesperson, Maynard Manyowa, told the reporters, “The ECG Church is not his [Bushiri’s] church; it belongs to South Africa and South Africans.” Manyowa also said that the deaths were “not his [Bushiri’s] problem, but a problem that the church has to deal with.”

Bushiri’s events are watched by more than 100,000 people on his own TV station, on social media, and in person. On New Year’s Eve, his biggest crowds meet at FNB Stadium in South Africa. In 2016 and 2017, more than 95,000 people showed up. The FNB field is Africa’s biggest field.

Shepherd Bushiri Investments

Shepherd Bushiri Investments, which is Bushiri’s business, has been linked to fraud, money laundering, tax evasion, and ponzi schemes, among other things. After finding out that the company had scammed pensioners out of $6 million USD, South African police took its properties and bank accounts.

The company says it is a foreign investment company with interests in oil, mining, real estate, transportation, and the hospitality business. It is based in Sandton, which is near Johannesburg. On February 20, 2018, Bushiri opened a hotel in South Africa that cost several million dollars and was one of his projects.

South African police took the hotel after Bushiri skipped bail and went back to his home country. SBI is especially interested in helping governments, especially those with weak economies. In 2017, the Vice President of South Sudan, Dr. James Igga, who is also the Reserve Bank Governor and Finance Minister, invited Bushiri to his home. During this time, a business deal was signed in the area of infrastructure and growth. African Leadership magazine gave Shepherd Bushiri a prestigious prize and put him in the CEO Hall of Fame in 2018.

Charity Work

Bushiri has done a lot of good things around the world, including helping people in Malawi, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Botswana, and South Africa. He set up a charity called the “Shepherd Bushiri Foundation,” which is run by Duncan Zgambo.  Through this organisation, he helps people who are poor or in need. He gives money to good causes, like helping people make a living, helping children get an education, and giving food subsidies to help people in need.

In 2017, he brought corn to Lilongwe and gave K85 million to charity in Malawi. He has helped young people through his sports academy and Major 1 Records, which supports and promotes new music acts. On Nelson Mandela Day, July 18, 2018, Bushiri started a programme to adopt schools across Africa by giving money to a nearby school. Senior government officials from South Africa’s Ministry of Education were there.

In March 2019, Bushiri went to the South African town of Alexandra, where a fire had destroyed more than 100 shacks. He said that he would give R400000, which is about $29000, to emergency services “to help the children in the area.”

The Nyasa Times and Malawi24 reported on February 11, 2020, that Bushiri said he would sell corn in Malawi for MK5,000 (US$6.85) per 50 kg (110 lbs), or US$124.55 per tonne. At the time of the release, the international price for maize futures (yellow maize) was US$150 per ton or US$7.50 per 50 kg. Prices for widely sold maize in Malawi were three to four times higher than what Bushiri said they were, going as high as MK20,000 per 50 kg. Several reports say that thousands of people got the cheap maize at different places in Malawi.

Personal Life

Bushiri was born in Malawi, where his father was from, to a Zambian mother. He is married to Mary Bushiri, who does volunteer work for charities. Together, they have two girls. On March 29, 2021, Bushiri said that his first daughter Israella had died in Kenya after a long illness with her lungs. He said that as a father, he had wanted her to grow up and serve the Lord.