A popular South African man of God and the Senior Pastor of Enlightened Christian Gathering Church (ECG), Shepherd Bushiri, has been accused by a 38-year-old woman, Margaret Hlatshwayo, of paying her to lie about miracles he purported to have performed, Daily Sun reports.
Hlatshwayo revealed to Sun that the man of God pays out an equivalent of about R30, 000 a week to a team of actors to pretend being healed of various ailments during his programmes.
“My conscience has been pricking me for about 3 months now and I am terrified that God might punish me.
I was told I could get a job at a church in Pretoria and would be paid R500 the same day. I didn’t know what kind of job it was. I was told I must act in a holy way and pretend I was healed. I had to testify to living a horrible life before.
I knew what I was doing was wrong but I couldn’t resist the R500 money promised. This is because I needed the money to feed my 3 children and I couldn’t turn down the offer, so I did what they told me.
And that was how I began. I lied to people and agreed to everything the pastor asked me. I said I was unemployed but I had recently got a job through God’s power after the pastor prayed for me. I have not had a job for the past 4 years.
My only job was telling lies recently at church in Pretoria Showground. Later, the church stopped paying me on time because it now has a lot of people lying and giving false testimonies for the prophet and then at the end, there is not enough money to pay all of us.
The pastor kept promising he will pay me. Sometimes, he gives me R300 and at times nothing at all. I am so ashamed.”
But a leader in the church told Sun when a call was put through, they he did not know Hlatshwayo, denying that the church board or senior pastor paid people to testify.
