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Malawi high court orders Bushiri extradition proceedings must go on

Self-proclaimed prophet and fraud accused Shepherd Bushiri in court with his wife Mary before the couple skipped bail and fled to Malawi. File photo.
Self-proclaimed prophet and fraud accused Shepherd Bushiri in court with his wife Mary before the couple skipped bail and fled to Malawi. File photo.
Image: Thulani Mbele

Malawi high court justice Redson Kapindu on Tuesday ordered that the country’s chief resident magistrate’s court must proceed with extradition proceedings against self-proclaimed prophet Shepherd Bushiri and his wife Mary.

This follows arguments about whether SA witnesses should be in court in person to testify at the preliminary inquiry.

Kapindu said it remained the discretion of the court to allow remote or virtual online court proceedings, and virtual testimony should be allowed where there are satisfactory grounds.

“The position of this court is that once the law generally requires physical presence in court by the witnesses, this is not an inflexible rule of thumb. The court has the discretion to allow remote or virtual online court proceedings where witnesses may testify virtually where this is necessary and practical,” he said.

“Remote or virtual online testimony carries a number of risks and does not have all the advantages of observing a witness face-to-face physically on the part of the court. Courts must therefore only allow virtual testimony where there are satisfactory grounds to do so, and the decision lies in the discretion of the court.

“Insofar as the learned chief resident magistrate found the physical presence of SA state witnesses in Malawi for purposes of committal proceedings herein is an inflexible requirement, he was in error.”

He said the high court of Malawi may, where it deems it appropriate, order the SA state witnesses to testify before a competent court in SA and their evidence will be sent to the committal court in Malawi.

“The fact that SA is a designated country under the extradition act emphasises the confidence that the Malawian institutions have in SA courts in this regard. The record herein reverts to the chief resident magistrates at Lilongwe to continue with the extradition committal proceedings,” Kapindu ordered.

He told the court virtual court proceedings make it impossible to see what is happening behind the camera, which may assist in proceedings. He said witnesses can be coached through texting, changing the integrity of the trial. He said there is also danger in sharing exhibits online as they might be vulnerable to cyber attacks.

“There is need for courts to be carefully guarded when they allow witnesses to testify virtually,” he said.

Bushiri and his wife were arrested in SA in October 2020 on charges of money laundering, fraud and theft. They fled to Malawi a week after being released on R200,000 bail each under strict bail conditions. Shortly after leaving, Bushiri said in a Facebook post they had left SA for their safety.

TimesLIVE


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