Pretoria – The media has been barred from taking any visuals or recordings of the bail application of Prophet Shepherd Bushiri, his wife Mary and a third accused in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court.
The order was made by Magistrate Thandi Theledi after a meeting in chambers with the State, Bushiri's lawyers and representatives of media houses ahead of the accused's appearance in court 16 today.
While the State said they had no issues with the presence of the media, they concurred with the request for no pictures or recordings be allowed during court.
According to Theledi, her reason for denying the media permission to record and broadcast proceedings was based on the fact the various media houses had failed to bring a proper application before the courts.
She did, however, indicate the matter would be reviewed when and should a proper application be brought before the courts.
In proceeding with the matter, the State read into record an affidavit from the
Crowds of faithful gather outside the Pretoria Commercial Crime’s Court in support of Shepherd Bushiri and wife Mary @IOL #Bushiri #ShepherdBushiri @psbushiri @bushiri_m pic.twitter.com/02Av8MRVpZ
— Pretoria News (@pretorianews) October 21, 2020
investigating officer who requested a postponement of the bail application citing several issues that still had to be looked into even with the investigations being at an advanced stage.
The investigating officer indicated that the address of the Bushiris was yet to be confirmed as the fixed address provided was up for sale and the accused did not stay there.
They also noted how they were in possession of an affidavit from the Department of Home Affairs in which their (Bushiri and his wife Mary) statuses in the country was still unclear.
With the department notifying them their stay was set to expire.
The address of the third accused had also not been confirmed as police indicated that no one knew her at the residence provided.
Annalien van den Heever, for the defence, however said police had ample time to verify the information needed and despite being notified at the last minute, they were ready to proceed with the bail application.
And also that the police had in fact arrested the wife at their residence.
Pretoria News