Shepherd Bushiri

Shepherd Bushiri (born 20th February 1983) also known as Major 1 is a Malawian preacher, prophet, businessman, motivational speaker, and author.

He is a controversial figure who gained popularity after releasing a video that showed him allegedly walking in the air.

Bushiri's former public relations manager later revealed that Bushiri staged miracles to gain media attention.

Bushiri runs a Christian non-denominational charismatic evangelical church known as the Enlightened Christian Gathering based in South Africa.

The church has headquarters in Pretoria, South Africa, with branches in other African countries and around the world.

Tens of thousands of people are attracted to the church every day.

He describes the church as a Prophetic Ministry based on the principle that "God cares and loves people and wants to speak directly to them".

Bushiri's investment company, Shepherd Bushiri Investments, has been implicated in several charges of fraud, and money laundering and a number of its assets have been seized by police after a Ponzi scheme it ran collapsed and pensioners were defrauded.

The company was also sued in the United States of America and charges of fraud laid.

The company is based in Sandton, near Johannesburg, 27+ mines, with interests in forex trading, real estate and in the airline industry.

He also owns a television channel, a telecommunications company, various farms, properties, sports academies and universities.

Bushiri ventured into business as a young man to support his community and the work of the gospel globally.

His rise to wealth has been called meteoric, using innovative business methods in various industries to accumulate riches.

Bushiri was born and grew up in Mzuzu, which is in the northern part of Malawi and is a Tumbuka by tribe.

His mother gave him the name Shepherd due to the complexities around his birth, acknowledging the Lord as her Shepherd.

He travels around the world holding crusades and meetings focused on teaching, prophesy and healing.

In 2017, Bushiri was hosted by the Vice President of South Sudan – Dr. James Igga, Reserve Bank Governor and Finance Minister, during which a business deal was signed in the area of infrastructure and development.

In 2017, he took maize to Lilongwe and spent K85 Million in Malawi Charity.

He has invested in young people through his sports academy and through Major 1 Records, which sponsors and show-cases up-and-coming music artists.

In August 2018, he was invited as a guest of honour at South Africa's National Day of Inter-faith prayer held at the Emirates Airline Stadium in Johannesburg, during which he offered prayers of reconciliation and unity.

The event was attended by South African leading clergy and South Africa's Vice President David Mabuza.

On 20 February 2018, Bushiri launched one of his hotel investments, a multimillion-dollar property in South Africa.

The hotel is one of the properties seized by South African Police after Bushiri skipped bail and fled to his home country ..

SBI has a special interest in supporting governments, including economies of fragile state countries.

In 2018 Shepherd Bushiri was given the prestigious award and induction into the CEO Hall of Fame by the African Leadership magazine.

Bushiri has been involved in many charitable works around the world, including work in Malawi, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Botswana, and South Africa.

He formed a humanitarian organization called "Shepherd Bushiri Foundation" with Duncan Zgambo as the CEO, where he provides for the needy and less privileged.

He provides charitable donations, including livelihood support; educational support for orphans; humanitarian relief through food subsidies.

On 18 July 2018, Nelson Mandela Day, Bushiri launched an Africa-wide school adoption program with donations to a local school.

The event was attended by Senior Government Officials from the South Africa Ministry of Education.

Claims were made in The Citizen in February 2019 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".

A report in The Sunday Times newspaper for February 2019 stated that "Bushiri's father, Huxley, and mother, Cristina, a Zambian by birth raised him as Chipiliro Gama".

In September 2019, Bushiri's spokesperson and communications director, Ephraim Nyondo, denied the allegations.

Bushiri is now known as one of the wealthiest pastors in the world and one of the most affluent people in Africa.

He is mentored by multimillionaire businessman and leader of Good News Church in the UK, Prophet Uebert Angel.

Bushiri is said to be the most celebrated and popular "spiritual son" of Prophet Angel.

Bushiri's company, Shepherd Bushiri Investments, is a controversial company that has been implicated in fraud, money laundering, tax evasion and ponzi schemes.

South African Police seized properties and bank accounts belonging to the company after discovering it had defrauded pensioners of $6 million USD.

The company claims to be an international investment company, based in Sandton near Johannesburg, with interests in oil, mining, real estate, transportation, and the hospitality industry.

In March 2019, Bushiri visited Alexandra in South Africa, where a fire had burnt over 100 shacks.