By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Malawian High Court has set aside the ruling to extradite self-proclaimed prophet Shepherd Bushiri and his wife Mary to South Africa.
In 2020, the couple appeared before courts in South Africa on multiple charges. They were granted bail pending trial but failed to comply with their bail conditions and fled the country under mysterious circumstances.
South African authorities then submitted an extradition request to Malawi, seeking their return to stand trial on various charges, including rape, violating bail conditions and contravention of the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act, the Banking Act, the Civil Aviation Act and the Immigration Act.
On the 12 March 2025, the Malawian Magistrate Court ruled that the couple must be extradited to South Africa for trial.
However, the High Court in Lilongwe has set aside the Magistrate Court ruling on Friday.
The judge found that the extradition proceedings against the Bushiri’s was unlawful, procedurally flawed, and violated Malawi’s constitutional guarantees of fairness, equality, and the right to life.
The ruling effectively halts South Africa’s long-standing effort to have the couple returned to face multiple charges.
Bushiri has been described as one of the richest religious leaders in Africa.
He claims to have cured people of HIV, made the blind see, changed the fortunes of the impoverished and, on at least one occasion, appeared to walk on air, although none of these claims have been scientifically proven.
He grew up in Mzuzu, a city in northern Malawi and moved to Pretoria in South Africa where he led his church – the Enlightened Christian Gathering.
He is so popular that he has been known to fill sports stadiums with followers.
But he has also been accused of preying on poor people, desperate to improve their lives, by selling merchandise including “miracle oil”.
The fugitive preacher has also built a business empire mainly through a company called “Shepherd Bushiri Investments”, described on his church’s website as having “interests in mining, real estate, an airline and other entrepreneurial pursuits”.