Bushiri extradition: Review hearing on SA witnesses adjourned

The review hearing on the issue of the South African witnesses has been adjourned to a date to be fixed for the ruling.

This was confirmed to News24 on Thursday by Wapona Kita, the lawyer for self-proclaimed prophet, Shepherd Bushiri, and his wife, Mary.

In addition, both the State and the defence have 14 days to make further submissions.

The review hearing sat virtually on Wednesday night in the Malawi High Court on the issue of the South African witnesses, whose statements are included in the extradition documents for the Bushiris.

The State is seeking a review of the lower court’s order that South African witnesses will have to appear in the Malawi court, instead of video conferencing.

The magistrate, Patrick Chirwa, in the Lilongwe Magistrate’s Court, had said there was no legal basis on which the court could direct for a video conference hearing.

Chirwa subsequently, in June, ruled the court required the witnesses to make themselves available to present their deposition.

This ruling came after Malawi prosecutors applied for the South African witnesses in the extradition case of the Bushiris to appear via video conferencing, citing, among other things, Covid-19.

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Bushiri and his wife, Mary, are wanted in South Africa in connection with a fraud and money laundering case, allegedly to the tune of R102 million.

They then fled South Africa to their homeland – Malawi – just a few days after they were granted bail of R200 000 each, under strict conditions, by the Pretoria Central Magistrate’s Court.

South Africa subsequently sent a formal extradition request to Malawi, which was received by the Malawi government in December.