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Self-proclaimed prophet Shepard Bushiri and his wife Mary fled to Malawi last week after being granted bail of 200,000 rand each while facing fraud and money laundering charges.
Pastor Shepherd Bushiri, his wife, Mary, and one of his co-defendants appear in Pretoria Magistrates Court on November 4, 2020. Image: Kgomotso Modise / EWN
CAPE TOWN – Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola said processes had been put in place for Shepherd Bushiri and his wife Mary to be extradited from Malawi.
Lamola made the remarks while presenting the political landscape on his department’s performance in Parliament on Friday.
Bushiri and his wife Mary fled to Malawi last week after being posted bail of 200,000 rand each while facing fraud and money laundering charges.
The cabinet received a report this week on the couple’s escape.
The MPs again questioned Lamola about the efforts being made to extradite them.
“Ultimately, Minister, this is an issue that erodes public confidence in the justice system as a whole and you are one of the primary custodians of our justice system,” said DA MP Werner Horn.
Lamola said the matter was receiving attention.
“The problem of high profile people fleeing the country has been raised. We have started processes, president. As you will remember when we were here last year, he asked us about the same topic. “
On Thursday, the Lilongwe Magistrates Court in Malawi ruled that the Bushiris’ arrest was illegal and ordered the couple to be released unconditionally.
According to local media, Magistrate Viva Nyimba issued the ruling based solely on the legality of the couple’s arrest in that country and not on their imminent case in South Africa.
* READ: The Malawi court rules that the Bushiris’ arrest was illegal and orders their release
Magistrate Nyimba said the couple’s corruption trial will only be considered once the documents for their extradition are processed.
Meanwhile, the National Tax Authority (NPA) said Thursday that Bushiri and his wife should be taken back to South Africa in what it called a “good time.”
NPA spokesman Sipho Ngwema said they were confident that South Africa’s legal processes would guarantee their return.
* READ: Shepherd and Mary Bushiri can run, but they can’t hide – NPA
The Bushiris maintain that they have done nothing wrong and claim that they fled to their home country for security reasons and because they were concerned that they would not have a fair trial.
The NPA welcomed the Pretoria Magistrates Court’s decision to have the couple’s multi-million rand mansion seized by the state after they failed to appear for corruption trial.
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