THE Lilongwe Magistrates Court in Malawi has ordered the state to pay the Bushiris close to half a million of the cost of proceedings for their recent delay in the extradition matter.
This comes after the state requested a postponement of 21 days on Tuesday, 10 October, following their failure to parade its only South African witness, Sibongile Mnzinyathi, a Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for Gauteng Province.
The state told the court it needed time to file fresh documents, and the issue was beyond their control.
Before granting them the wish of an adjournment, in her ruling, Chief Resident Magistrate Madalitso Chimwaza said while the court agrees with the arguments by the defence, the court has used its discretion not to discharge the defendants on technicalities.
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The magistrate pointed out that the state has not been vigilant, stating that it was unfortunate and disrespectful of court orders.
“To discharge the case for this mishap will be an unreasonable decision as it is the first time for the state to ask for this. There's no prejudice suffered by the defendants apart from the time wasting.
“And the defence will be compensated with costs of K560,000 (R490 628), to be paid before the next date of hearing. The matter has been postponed again to December 2023,” he said.
The court has given the state 60 days to file all necessary documents and serve them on the defence before 11 December, when the hearing resumes.
The fugitive prophet Shepherd Bushiri and his wife Mary are the most wanted couple in Mzansi, this after they skipped bail in 2020.
