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Shepherd Bushiri and his wife Mary.
Shepherd Bushiri via Facebook
- The Malawian state’s appeal of the lower court ruling that freed the Bushiris has been postponed.
- This is to allow the court to hear the defense team’s preliminary objections.
- The matter will be known on December 14.
The hearing on the State of Malawi appeal of the lower court ruling that led to the immediate release of the self-proclaimed prophet Shepherd Bushiri and his wife Mary, has been postponed.
“Yes, I can confirm, we have raised preliminary objections related to the jurisdiction of the court to hear the criminal review of what we consider to be a civil matter,” Bushiri’s lawyer Wapona Kita told News24 on Tuesday.
A higher court was established in Lilongwe to hear the Malawi state prosecutor’s appeal of the lower court’s ruling which found, among other things, that his arrests by the Malawi police service were illegal because it was not channeled through the Ministry Homeland Security, News24 reported. .
READ | Malawian court orders immediate release of Bushiris, lawyer says
This followed the Bushiris surrendering to the Lilongwe police after Interpol Pretoria issued a notice. This tip came after the couple recently fled South Africa, breaching their bail conditions in a fraud and money laundering case before the Pretoria Magistrates Court, News24 reported.
Since then, their bond had been revoked and their Centurion property confiscated from the state after the couple failed to appear in South Africa’s lower court.
The Bushiri and their co-defendants Landiwe Ntlokwana, Zethu Mudolo and Willie Mudolo face charges of theft, fraud and money laundering in connection with an investment plan for an alleged amount of R102 million.
News24 also reported that the National Tax Authority and the Hawks were given two weeks to finalize the formal extradition request, according to Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola in an earlier report.
READ ALSO | NPA and Hawks to finalize formal extradition request for Bushiris
The matter in Malawi was postponed until December 14, 2020.
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