BUSHIRI SUES MALAWIAN GOVERNMENT
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JOHANNESBURG Self-proclaimed prophet and fugitive Shepherd Bushiri is taking legal action against the Malawian government.
Lawyers for Bushiri and his wife, Mary, say the State contravened a court order which said the Bushiris should be summoned to court for their extradition matter next month and not be arrested before then.
It all started this past weekend when Bushiri’s daughters, along with their grandmother and another relative, were stopped at the airport in Malawi as they sought to leave for Kenya.
One of the children allegedly needed urgent medical care in Kenya, but the move was blocked.
Their lawyers say 30 police officers later arrived at their client’s house to
arrest them, but they were not home. The couple’s lawyers then went to
the Malawian High court, asking that the arrest be stayed. The request was granted.
“Precisely that is what up to now we don’t appreciate,” said Wapona Kita, the couple’s lawyer.
“This is to say where did this warrant stem from? Because the court itself set the date for the trial by the law of summons. Because now this is a third attempt to try to arrest them. There are no conditions set by the court that was breached.”
Legal experts suggest it is a delaying tactic.
“The Malawian authorities can do nothing now because there’s an injunctive order stating that they cannot arrest them for the time period until that application for review has been finalised by the Malawi High Court. So this is now technicalities of Law 101 at its best,” said legal expert Elton Hart.
The couple’s highly-anticipated extradition trial is expected to be heard in two weeks.
Meanwhile, Bushiri says he has not been told why his daughter was denied the right to lawfully access medical attention.
The controversial Malawian pastor says the child’s condition remains critical in the same medical facility that referred her for medical attention in Kenya eNCA.