Court hears Bushiris anti-arrest case

The High Court of Malawi sitting in Lilongwe yesterday heard parties to the case in which Enlightened Christian Gathering leader Shepherd Bushiri and his wife Mary want the court to stop Malawi Police Service from arresting him.

Judge Kenyatta Nyirenda heard the State and the Bushiris and has since reserved his judgement to a later date, according to one of the lawyers representing the Bushiris, Wapona Kita, who attended the hearing in the judge’s chamber.

The Bushiris’ application followed a request by the South African government for the prophet, who alongside his wife jumped bail in that country, to be extradited to answer charges ranging from alleged fraud and money laundering.

There were hundreds of their sympathisers at the court who chanted songs in support of the Bushiris while pleading for a fair trial.

The prophet and his wife are on record to have said that they escaped South Africa because their safety was compromised and that they feared they could not get a fair trial.

The court earlier faulted an earlier arrest of the Bushiris by the Malawi Police.

In its extradition request to the Malawi Government, South Africa wants to continue prosecuting the couple on theft, fraud, forgery and failure to comply with bail conditions after their escape. Prosecutors in South Africa also want to put Shepherd Bushiri on trial for new three counts of rape.