The High Court has adjourned the interparty hearing on Shepherd Bushiri’s application to stop the state from arresting him. The court has allowed the defense to make the application within two days and the case has since been adjourned to Monday, March 15, 2021 at 1.30 pm.
According to Bushiri’s lawyer, Wapona Kita, Justice Kenyetta Nyirenda adjourned the matter to later this month because the state had filed documents late. “We were not able to immediately speak to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for the state’s position.
Meanwhile, Bushiri and his wife, Mary, are now at Lilongwe Magistrates Court where the court is expected to continue hearing their extradition case”. The Bushiris are wanted in South Africa to answer charges of fraud and money laundering, among other charges which they were answering before they jumped bail to Malawi claiming they were not going to get a fair trial in South Africa.
Lawyers for the Bushiris had earlier asked for Chief Resident Magistrate Patrick Chirwa to recuse himself from the case after he took over from a colleague who is reportedly sick. The lawyers say Chirwa granted the state the warrant of arrest it used to arrest Bushiri which they are challenging.
