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The Bushiri appear in the Lilongwe Magistrates Court.
- Bushiri’s legal team argues that SA’s witnesses should be summoned to Malawi, arguing that this is what the law requires.
- The State of Malawi has opposed this, arguing that “this is not a trial”.
- The lower court will rule on the issues raised in court on Monday..
The self-proclaimed prophet Shepherd Bushiri and his wife Mary Bushiri’s legal team have argued during court proceedings that witnesses, whose statements appear in extradition documents, should be summoned to Malawi.
However, the State of Malawi objected to this, stating that it was not a trial.
“The law, the way it is written in the extradition law is for the sole effect that it is a matter of preliminary investigation, it is not a trial, this is the law, we have argued it in court and it will be for the honorable court to make a decision, “Malawi Public Prosecutor Director Steve Kayuni told the media after the court proceedings.
The couple, who appeared in Lilongwe Magistrates Court on Monday, are wanted in South Africa in connection with fraud and money laundering, allegedly for a sum of R102 million.
However, they fled the country to their homeland only days after the Central Magistrates Court in Pretoria granted them bail of 200,000 rand each under strict conditions.
Subsequently, South Africa sent a formal extradition request, which was received by the Malawian government in December.
READ | Malawi receives formal extradition request from South Africa for Bushiris
The extradition hearing was supposed to start and end on March 8, but has suffered several delays.
During Monday’s trial, the court heard several issues raised by the defense, namely that witnesses, whose statements are included in the extradition documents, must be summoned to ensure a fair hearing, “if they exist.”
However, the court heard from the State that it was not a trial and therefore it was not necessary to bring witnesses.
The State further argued that this would subject the Bushiri to two trials and that the documents sent by South Africa should be treated as evidence.
“They argued otherwise, but we believe that preliminary investigations have a specific way in which they are processed,” Kayuni said.
The court also heard arguments on other issues, such as the authenticity of the documents, what is a preliminary investigation, whether witnesses should be in court, and what legal instruments are being used.
The court is expected to rule on the aforementioned issue on Monday, March 29.
During a previous court appearance, the court was asked to determine whether the extradition matter involving the Bushiri should be treated as civil or criminal in nature.
On Monday, Chief Justice Patrick Chirwa ruled that the case would continue to be treated as a criminal case and that the state should provide the defense with the South African documents within the next seven days.
“That has a [great] significance, because there is a difference between the criminal process vs the civil process and, with the way our justice system is, it is in such a way that a criminal matter is processed faster than a civil matter.
“Besides that, what are the matters before the court? If the matters have to do with criminality, it is a criminal matter, if it has to do with the civility of the people, then it is a civil matter. The matters before him honorable court, the court has already decided that they have criminal elements, “Kayuni said.
When News24 approached Bushiri’s lawyer, Wapona Kita, to comment on his request that SA witnesses be summoned to Malawi, Kita responded: “This is what the law requires.”
The Bushiri return to court on Monday.
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