Bushiris: Malawi Court Denies Request to Have Extradition Overturned
- A Malawian court has recently made the decision to deny Shepherd and his wife Mary's decision to have their extradition to SA overturned
- The magistrate argued that even though SADC protocols cannot be applied in Malawi, SA is designated under the bilateral act as a “processable” destination for extradition
- The Bushiris' lawyers have gone on to say that they are unhappy with the proceedings and will be taking the matter to the High Court
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Self-proclaimed prophet Shepherd Bushiri and his wife Mary's request for their extradition to South Africa to be overturned by the Lilongwe Magistrate’s Court in Malawi has been denied.
Source: Facebook
The Bushiris' lawyer argued that the SADC Protocol doesn't apply in Malawi, hence the extradition process should be overturned. Magistrate Patrick Chirwa, however, cited that although SADC protocol cannot be used in Malawi, South Africa is designated under the bilateral act as a processable destination for extradition.
Magistrate Chirwa then went and on to say that the case could not be thrown out and would now be moving forward based on the agreement between South Africa and Malawi.
Meanwhile, the Bushiris' lawyers are not happy about this and have made the decision to take the matter to the High Court for review.
“We have listened to the decision by the magistrate and we are not satisfied with what was said so we are going for a review in the High Court," reads a statement made by their lawyer, Wapona Kita, in a The Citizen article.
The couple are currently wanted by South African authorities to face allegations of fraud, theft and money laundering after they got bail and skipped the country.
Briefly News previously reported that the Bushiris had a previous application denied by a court in Malawi while facing multiple charges, including fraud and money laundering.
The court has ruled that the case would continue to be treated as a criminal case despite the Bushiris' lawyers application for extradition proceedings to be heard as civil and not criminal proceedings. Following this, the defence stated that the extradition request was incomplete as the South African government had not provided documentary evidence.
The couple's legal team also argued that witnesses from South Africa should be summoned to Malawi. The application for the witnesses was denied as the court stated the matter was not a trial but rather an extradition hearing.
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Source: Briefly News
