The High Court in Lilongwe has overturned a lower court ruling that witnesses in the prophet Shepherd Bushiri extradition case can testify virtually from South Africa.
The court ruling means witnesses in the case need to come to Malawi and physically testify before the magistrate court.
The ruling follows the appeal Bushiris had made before the Lilongwe High Court against an earlier ruling by the magistrate court.
In his ruling, judge Bruno Kalemba began by saying witnesses to the extradition hearing are representatives of the requesting state.
“These representatives will be able to satisfy the court that their request meets all the requirements under Section 6 of the Extradition Act and answer questions and be cross-examined by the fugitive offenders,” he ordered.
Bushiri’s lawyer, Wapona Kita, welcomed the ruling saying it was his clients’ prayer to have these witnesses come to Malawi and testify.
With the ruling it means, the case goes back to the Lilongwe Magistrate Court for proceedings on a date and time to be announced.
