Tue, 23 May 2017 13:20:54 +0000
THE adage goes that do not argue with a fool because people will not notice the difference. The same applies to the furore over the so-called Malawian prophet and ‘‘man of God’’ Shepard Bushiri.
Who is Bushiri that Zambians should be pre-occupied with his lack of respect for authority and arrogance? Or that he is an investor; what investor?
This is one chap who has not long ago been begging the Zambian Government to allow him enter the country to preach the gospel but his antics have caused concern among his followers who found some of his sermons unbiblical and total heresy.
It was no wonder that Government acted correctly to bar him from returning to the country to farther his activities which the authorities found inimical to the security and good order in the country.
To confirm the fact that he is not a true man of God, his response to his exclusion from the country tells the story of who he really is. We agree with Reverend Pukuta Mwanza of the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia that Bushiri is a frustrated young man who wants to divert the country’s attention from real issues and dwell on the stupidity of a spoiled kid.
Rev Mwanza says Bushiri proved his true colours through his response to Religious Affairs minister Reverend Godfridah Sumaili who advised the young Malawian not to come to Zambia until his case and that of many other false prophets like him were reviewed by Government.
Bushiri’s response to Minister Sumaili and Copperbelt minister Bowman Lusambo who asked him to apologise to Government for his uncalled for remarks or lose his emerald license, could only be described as the language of a crude, unprincipled ng’wang’awazi, a product of Lilongwe bus station.
The man, who claims to be a big mine investor, dared the Government to repossess the mine if it so wished, vowing he will never apologise to Rev Sumaili, his mother by age. As Rev Mwanza says this lack of humility is not associated with Christianity.
Jesus taught his followers to turn the other cheek to all those tormenting them and pray for their persecutors. Instead Bushiri, true to his un-Christian calling, is fighting back and calling his elders names. He even has the audacity to challenge the Government over something that does not belong to him.
If it is true that Bushiri paid someone money to become a partner in an emerald mine in Lufwanyama, a mine which has not even started operating, the right thing for him to do was to go down on his knees and beg for forgiveness from the Government. How does a foreigner hope to operate a mine in Zambia without Government approval and assistance?
Considering that the same businessman-cum-prophet is reported by our High Commission in South Africa to have allegedly set up a group of Zambians he was doing business with and are currently in custody in Pretoria over trumped up charges, Mr Bushiri is not a friend of Zambia.
This is why it is important that all those who come into the country under the pretext of being investors, whether from our friendly neighbouring countries or not, should undergo screening to find out who they really are and how they make their money.
By his behaviour Mr Bushiri has denied himself an investor’s license and he can forget about doing business in Zambia. He is not worthy wasting the time to grant a license because he does not respect authority.
More importantly he must decide whether he wants to be a businessman, bus station callboy or respected religious leader.
