THERE is still no end in sight to the extradition of the Bushiris and the Guptas.
But the Mzansi government is doing all in its power to bring them back to face the music.
Giving an update on these matters on Thursday, 28 September, the Department of Justice and Correctional Services said the matters were still before the courts.
Department spokesman Chrispin Phiri said the case against self-proclaimed "prophet" Shepherd and his wife Mary Bushiri will be back in court on 10 October.
“The state however was afforded an opportunity to re-certify the request. The matter has been postponed to 10 October 2023, on which date state representatives will give testimony,” he said.
The Lilongwe Magistrates Court in Malawi rejected their application to stop South African extradition request on 11 September.
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The Bushiris, who are wanted in Mzansi, had asked the court to reject the South African government's extradition request.
The department received the initial request on 26 November 2020 from the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) for the extradition of the Bushiris from the Republic of Malawi to Mzansi to stand trial on charges of fraud, theft, money laundering to the tune of R102 million, racketeering, forgery, rape, among others.
Phiri said on 18 and 28 August, Minister Ronald Lamola and the department’s director-general directed letters to their counterparts in the UAE stating South Africa’s position that despite the UAE’s invitation to submit a new extradition request for Atul Kumar Gupta and his brother Rajesh Kumar Gupta, it remains necessary to first obtain clarity on the questions asked previously by the Central Authority of South Africa in order to assess the matter before a decision can be taken to submit a new extradition request.
“The department has not yet received a response to the correspondence and the South African Embassy in Abu Dhabi is following up in this regard,” he said.
