“Hawks says Bushiri is untouchable and his prayers are not giving them any rest ever since the Prophet left the country to Malawi,” reads a message posted on Facebook in December 2020.
The Hawks are South Africa's Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation. Shepherd Bushiri is a Christian preacher whose church is headquartered in Pretoria, South Africa. He is wanted by the South African government on charges of fraud and money laundering.
Bushiri and his wife Mary Bushiri skipped bail and fled to his home country, Malawi, in November 2020. The South African government has initiated an extradition process to prosecute the couple.
Have the Hawks said Bushiri is “untouchable”? We checked.

The message does not provide a source or give any details on when or where the Hawks supposedly said this.
The Bushiris’ escape to Malawi is a developing story covered by all major news organisations in South Africa. If the Hawks had made such a statement, it would have been widely reported. But this is not the case.
Without any evidence to support the claim that the Hawks called Bushiri “untouchable”, we rate the message as false. – Africa Check
The Hawks are South Africa's Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation. Shepherd Bushiri is a Christian preacher whose church is headquartered in Pretoria, South Africa. He is wanted by the South African government on charges of fraud and money laundering.
Bushiri and his wife Mary Bushiri skipped bail and fled to his home country, Malawi, in November 2020. The South African government has initiated an extradition process to prosecute the couple.
Have the Hawks said Bushiri is “untouchable”? We checked.

No evidence to support claim
The message does not provide a source or give any details on when or where the Hawks supposedly said this.
The Bushiris’ escape to Malawi is a developing story covered by all major news organisations in South Africa. If the Hawks had made such a statement, it would have been widely reported. But this is not the case.
Without any evidence to support the claim that the Hawks called Bushiri “untouchable”, we rate the message as false. – Africa Check
Republish our content for free
For publishers: what to do if your post is rated false
A fact-checker has rated your Facebook or Instagram post as “false”, “altered”, “partly false” or “missing context”. This could have serious consequences. What do you do?
Click on our guide for the steps you should follow.
Publishers guideAfrica Check teams up with Facebook
Africa Check is a partner in Meta's third-party fact-checking programme to help stop the spread of false information on social media.
The content we rate as “false” will be downgraded on Facebook and Instagram. This means fewer people will see it.
You can also help identify false information on Facebook. This guide explains how.
Add new comment