THE South African witness in the self-proclaimed Prophet Shepherd Bushiri and his wife Mary's extradition case has caused the hearing to be postponed yet again.
Sibongile Mzinyathi, who is Gauteng director of public prosecutions, was expected to be cross-examined on Monday morning, 11 December, but only arrived in Malawi in the afternoon, citing logistical challenges.
The court heard that Mzinyathi missed the plane that was meant to connect him from Kenya to Malawi, instead of taking the direct flight from South Africa to Malawi.
After several short adjournments on Monday, as the court was waiting for his arrival, the state asked the Lilongwe Chief Resident Magistrates Court in Malawi to adjourn the case to March next year.
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The state suggested the matter be moved into the last week of February 2024 or the first week of March 2024.
They also mentioned that they needed time to prepare.
But Bushiris’ lawyer Wapona Kita argued that Mzinyathi could have arrived in time for the case if he had used a direct flight to Malawi.
He also mentioned that Mzinyathi was in Malawi last week, suggesting that he could’ve come for the same case because he was meeting with the prosecution team.
He said: “We believe that they have reasons why they want the case to be delayed, but we would have loved for this case to be concluded.”
The court is expected to make a ruling on the proposed postponement on Tuesday, 12 December.
