Malawi fugitive takes aim at SA after extradition ruling

Malawian self-proclaimed prophet and fugitive Shepherd Bushiri has made explosive claims against top security officials, including a ‘Hawks general’ named Sibiya. The Citizen reports that the Enlightened Christian Gathering (ECG) founder and his wife, Mary, expressed relief after the High Court of Malawi overturned a lower court ruling. On 12 March, the Lilongwe Magistrate’s Court gave the green light to the Bushiris’ extradition to SA to face fraud and money laundering charges involving R102m. However, the couple appealed, and on Friday, the Malawian High Court ruled that the extradition order is unlawful and unconstitutional. Justice Mzonde Mvula ruled that the extradition process ‘fell short’ of the standards required under Malawi law and that the couple had been denied their constitutional right to be heard. The ruling sets aside the decision the Lilongwe court’s ruling that ordered the Bushiri’s committal to await surrender to SA, where they are wanted on charges of fraud, money laundering, and rape allegations.

The Sunday Tribune reports that Mvula found that the lower court ‘did not exercise judicial discretion correctly by making a finding for extradition, when the evidence on the extradition hearing fell short to make this finding’. He said the proceedings violated the fundamental legal principle of audi alteram partem, the right to be heard, because the magistrate ‘delivered a ruling after hearing only the case of the respondent’. The judge emphasised that ‘even in extradition proceedings, where hearing is opted, then both sides to the case ought to be heard’. The High Court criticised the magistrate for failing to provide adequate reasons for her decision, saying ‘only one out of eight issues under consideration was properly analysed’, and that key objections raised by the Bushiris, including hearsay evidence, improper document authentication, and threats to their lives, had been ignored. Mvula said the extradition request relied heavily on ‘hearsay evidence’, pointing out that the witness for SA ‘admitted under cross-examination that he relied on investigators, who themselves relied on complainants’. The judge ruled that such evidence was ‘inadmissible in Malawian extradition proceedings’, adding that ‘equality before the law is paramount and cardinal principle of law’. The court also found that documents submitted by SA were not properly authenticated.’

Full Sunday Tribune report

Full report in The Citizen

The couple fled to Malawi in November 2020, just days after they were granted R200 000 bail each. SA subsequently submitted an extradition request to Malawi in December 2020. The scandal led to the dismissal of former Home Affairs chief director Ronney Marhule in May 2022. At service at his church on Friday night, Bushiri reflected on his legal battles with the SA Government. ‘Tonight has been incredibly amazing to stand here finally and speak with all boldness that the curse which we have been up and down in courts has gone to our favour,’ he said. He recounted moving to SA in 2015 to establish his ministry, noting that its success brought ‘a lot of implications: ‘As the scripture says, we had to pay. These came through persecutions and betrayal. Not only that, but also through various moments where our names were tarnished through a smear campaign that was lodged against us. Bushiri alleged that in 2016, four ‘corrupt’ Hawks members approached him to solicit money. He said they demanded R12m if he and his family wanted to remain in SA, describing it as a ‘protection fee’. The Citizen reports that the ECG leader said he was referred him to a former Minister and a top State Security Agency member, whom he later met. ‘To my surprise, despite bringing these serious allegations against these police officers, nothing was done.’ Bushiri alleged that the demands for money kept increasing, claiming that a ‘General Sibiya’ within the ‘Hawks’ demanded payments to settle his case. This has sparked speculation that he was referring to suspended Deputy National Police Commissioner Shadrack Sibiya, who was dismissed in 2015. Sibiya has not commented.

Full report in The Citizen

The SA Government has indicated it is deciding on its next course of legal action against the fugitives. EWN reports that it says it is reviewing Friday’s Malawian High Court judgment, which set aside the order to surrender the couple to SA for trial. Justice Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi said the government will continue to work closely with Malawian authorities to ensure justice prevails. Justice Ministry spokesperson Terrence Manase said SA will continue pursuing the case. ‘Minister Kubayi has indicated that the SA Government is studying the judgment and will determine the next legal course of action once a full assessment of the ruling has been concluded,’ he added.

Full EWN report