The freedom from the long arm of the law in South Africa might have appealed to fugitive Prophet Shepherd Bushiri but is not tasting any sweeter, sources have indicated.
According to private media house Zodiak Broadcasting Station, fugitive Prophet Shepherd Bushiri is considering handing himself back to South African police days after he skipped the borders of the country to claim persecution in his native Malawi.
According to the media report, the fugitive prophet is considering two options of which one is handing himself over to South African police. This comes after South Africa indicated that it had notified the international police, Interpol, of the wanted status of Bushiri.
The notice that the SA police has posted on Bushiri means that any country that will be aware of the presence of the fugitive in their country will be mandated to arrest him least they violate international agreements on fighting crime.
South Africa has also indicated that if Bushiri, and his wife Mary, who both skipped bail under unknown circumstances will not hand themselves over to authorities in the country by Thursday, the state will take over their property that was used as surety in the case.
Another option that the Bushiris are considering is to fight their extradition. An expert said that once Malawi starts the extradition process, Bushiri will have to be in custody while fighting it.
“Fighting extradition could take years, but while fighting it the tradition is that he will have to be in a Malawian jail. He can fight that arrangement but the fact that he has skipped bail does not work in his favour,” the expert said.
The Bushiris skipped South Africa on an unknown date and appeared in Malawi on Saturday, November 14. Their appearing around the same time that Malawi President had returned from South Africa has created a diplomatic tiff between Malawi and South Africa with the former accusing the Malawi government of having a hand in the escape of Bushiri.
