The South African government has announced that it will still work on its request to have popular prophet Chipiliro Gama extradited to the country. This is after the High Court in Malawi ordered that officials from South Africa should avail themselves in Malawi for the extradition request.
In a statement that has been released by the Ministry of Justice and Correctional Services in South Africa, the country has not given up on its request to have Gama and his wife tried in the country.
According to the statement, the Ministry has clarified that their pursuit of Gama did not end with his escape to Malawi nor has it ended with the ruling.
In an earlier ruling, a Magistrate in Malawi’s capital Lilongwe had ruled that representatives of the South African government did not need to be physically present in the country for the extradition request. They were allowed to present their request online.
However, Gama appealed the ruling and the High Court agreed with him that hearing of his extradition request should have representatives of the South African government physically in Malawi.
The victory on the request was interpreted by other quarters as the end of the legal troubles for the Prophet who has established his base in his native country of Malawi. The South African government however has moved to quash such allegations with its statement registering that the extradition request is not a trial.
In 2020, Chipiliro Gama and his wife Mary who operate under the brand of Prophet Shepherd and Mary Bushiri fled South Africa after being arrested and charged for various financial crimes. They were released on bail after days in custody before they fled the country.
The circumstances of their departure remain unclear but Gama has been on record saying that he fled because his life was in danger. In Malawi, he’s fighting against demands by the South African government that he’s extradited back to answer the charges levelled against him.
