Botswana shuts 'miracle' pastor Shepherd Bushiri's church

Botswana has shut down the church of a controversial Malawian self-styled prophet, who claimed to walk on air.

The government confirmed the closure of Shepherd Bushiri's Enlightened Christian Gathering Church (ECG) in Gaborone, reportedly due to concerns over so-called "miracle money".

, taken less than a year after he was in effect banned from entering the country.

He had been due to attend a conference.

However, Botswana minister Edwin Batshu announced in April 2017 that despite Malawians not usually needing one, according to AllAfrica.com.

Who is Shepherd Bushiri?

  • Malawi-born "prophet" who now runs churches from Ghana to South Africa
  • Claims to have cured people of HIV and brought people back from the dead,
  • Predicted the UK would split, "states" would fight and it would descend into "chaos",
  • Appeared to walk on air in a video shared widely on social media
  • Told Zimbabwe politician Kembo Mohadi he would get "the crown" before he was named vice-president,

The government has now announced that the church will be shut for good, with .

The newspaper further reports it was the church's use of "miracle money" - promises of money appearing as if by magic - which broke the country's laws.

Mr Bushiri - who has more than 2.3 million likes on Facebook and filled Johannesburg's FNB Stadium on New Year's Eve - and his church have yet to respond publicly.

The church leader is known as much for his lavish lifestyle as for his successful ministry, which stretches across Africa.

He came under fire last year after it emerged