Lilongwe Chief Resident Magistrate’s Court has adjourned to July 10 2023 the extradition case of Prophet Shepherd Bushiri and his wife Mary to allow parties to make submissions on the authenticity of the extradition request.

The court’s ruling yesterday followed an application by the defence objecting to the beginning  of trial on the basis that the witness statements were not authenticated in accordance with the Extradition Act.

A South African witness, Sibongire Mnzinyathi, who is the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for Gauteng Province was scheduled to take to the witness box yesterday.

But in his oral submission, Bushiri’s lawyer Wapona Kita argued that the State did not make full disclosures and, therefore, appealed to the court to dismiss the extradition request without even hearing the so-called evidence in support of it.

Bushiri and his wife arrive at the
court in Lilongwe

He said: “Your Worship, you are aware we appeared before you on 16th of February [2023] and you issued directives on disclosures directing that we be served with all documents…and authentication of documents was already before the court.”

According to Kita, the initial extradition request issued in 2021 was irregular and that the fresh extradition request is also lacking.

But senior assistant chief State advocate Dzikondianthu Malunda described as an ambush, the application by the defence team, saying it was supposed to have been filed formally.

He said: “I am of the view that it’s an application that goes to the core of this case, and the normal way was to file a normal application for the State to prepare, check court records and arrange relevant documents. As it is, the playing ground is not levelled.”

The court has since given the defence 14 days to make a formal application and also another 14 days for the State to respond.

In her ruling, chief resident magistrate Madalitso Chimwaza observed that the application by the defence indeed goes “to the very core of the case; hence, the court’s decision to allow for a formal application”.

Earlier, Malunda informed the court that the State had lined up six witnesses but only one will testify.

In February 2022, the High Court of Malawi in Lilongwe directed that the magistrate’s court should continue with extradition committal proceedings.

The State had applied to the High Court to seek clarity on the matter, and in his ruling Judge Redson Kapindu, said there is enough judicial precedent that points to the fact that trial can be held virtually.

He said witnesses can testify remotely, but this should be the discretion of the court to make based on solid grounds.

He also provided an option that the court in Malawi can move a competent court in South Africa to hear the witnesses’ testimony and have the same submitted to Malawi.

The Bushiris are answering criminal charges in South Africa where they fled in November 2020 while on bail, and South African authorities are seeking their extradition to face trial.

The post Bushiris extradition case adjourned to July 10 first appeared on The Nation Online.