In a twist of events, the State and Enlightened Christian Gathering (ECG) leader Prophet Shepherd Bushiri and his wife Mary yesterday asked the High Court of Malawi to set aside a judgement to extradite the couple to South Africa.
The South African Government requested that the Bushiris be extradited to that country to answer fraud and rape charges.
In March this year, the Lilongwe Chief Resident Magistrate’s Court ordered that the Bushiris be extradited to South Africa.
However, when the High Court convened in Lilongwe yesterday to hear the application to set aside the earlier order, presiding Judge Mzonde Mvula learnt that both applicants and the State had issues with the earlier judgement.
While the Bushiris want the extradition request to be dismissed and the judgement set aside in totality, the State wants the judgement set aside and replaced with a more comprehensive one that would necessitate the extradition.
The Bushiris, through lawyer Wapona Kita, sought a review of the judgement on 15 grounds. On the other hand, the State made additional grounds on which it wanted the judgement to be reviewed and replaced.
Kita submitted that never at any point did the State make an application to have the judgement reviewed. He asked the court not to entertain the State’s grounds.
However, the lawyer said it was clear that both the applicants and the State were not happy with the lower court’s judgement, hence the need to dismiss it.
“In so far as the State concurs with applicants that the lower court erred in its judgement, then the same cannot be allowed to stand,” said Kita.
He also prayed to the High Court to acquit Bushiri’s wife, arguing that the offence of forgery of immigration laws which Mary is to be extradited on does not exist.
Kita told the court that the lower court acquitted Mary Bushiri on the offence of forgery for loan agreement for purchase of an aircraft, an offence that is extraditable.
“The court created an offence that does not exist,” he said.
Kita also told the court that the State has now disclosed names of the victims in its skeleton arguments for the review of the lower court judgement, wondering why the State revealed the victims after refusing to do the same in the lower court.
In his submission, Directorate of Public Prosecutions director of criminal litigation Dzikondianthu Malunda faulted the subordinate court’s judgement, saying it was more focused on preventing the extradition of the Bushiris.
He said the State made additional grounds because the judgement was working to the advantage the Bushiris.
“Malawi has an extradition agreement with South Africa and Malawi needs to play its part when there is a request,” said Malunda.
The State lawyer said the extradition request was properly authenticated and had charges that the suspects were wanted for, adding that the allegation that documents from South Africa were different from those in Malawi was not true, saying the contents were the same.
Malunda also faulted the judgement for not making findings on various counts against Shepherd Bushiri, arguing the court should have done more on the judgement.
Mvula has since ordered the parties in the matter to make closing submissions within seven days. He said the court will make it determination on the matter within 60 days.
