Bushiri Is Not Coming Back Until His Safety Is Guaranteed’
Terrance Baloyi, attorney for Enlightened Christian Gathering (ECG), church leader, Prophet, Shepherd Bushiri, has since said his client won’t be returning to South Africa until his safety is guaranteed.
Last week Wednesday, Prophet, Shepherd Bushiri fled to his home country of Malawi citing that his life was under threat.
Prophet Bushiri who is currently out on bail following corruption charges and money laundering allegations has since flouted his bail conditions by fleeing South Africa illegally and not reporting to the presided local Police station on two accounts, last week Friday, and today.
However, his attorney has since confirmed that he fled the country illegally but said it was his prerogative to do so because his life is at stake.
“On how he fled the country he has since indicated that he’s emotional about it. It’s something which we will hear from him when he’s ready he’s in an emotional state right now. He feels his life is being threatened he is not running away from trial but he feels his life is in danger. This has been going on for three years now and he has since raised the issues with the law enforcement agents that’s why he decided to take this action that he might be finally heard. The president that is being set here is that human life matters regardless of who you are, he will back as soon as he’s safety is assured,” said Baloyi.
Moreover, Phumla Williams Director-General of Government Communication and Information Systems said the government was already working on the process of having Prophet Bushiri extradited.
“We initiated the process of extradition late yesterday but it’s a process which is underway so that all the relevant documents that support the extradition process are forwarded to the Malawian government. We started looking for him from as early as Friday when he failed to report to the Police as per the bail requirements. However, we haven’t heard any official reports from the Malawian government that he is in the country. Moreover, we are working very hard in strengthening our security,” said Williams.
However, Malawi’s Information Minister and Governmental Spokesperson, Gospel Kazako, said they were still waiting on a formal extradition letter from South Africa.
“It’s not up to us when we will release Bushiri we are just waiting for a formal approach then we will take it from there. We have not received anything from the government of South Africa pertaining to the extradition it’s not a complicated matter nor is it personal it’s an issue of law and once we receive the formal approach then we will resolve the matter according to the law. Bushiri is just one of our citizens there is nothing special it’s not a special case. Formally we don’t know what law he contravened we have not met nor spoken to him we are in government and there are procedures we have to follow. We will investigate how he got into Malawi but we also want to know how he managed to get out of South Africa without his passport. This issue should not just be pushed towards Malawi but also South Africa. Moreso, the relationship that he has with the President is that he is a President and Bushiri is a citizen nothing more,” said Kazako.
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