Shepherd Bushiri has handed himself over to authorities in Lilongwe, reports confirmed on Wednesday morning.
The fugitive pastor and his wife are wanted in South Africa for charges related to corruption and money laundering.
Aaron Motsoaledi refuses to take sole blame for Bushiri escape
While out on bail, the couple executed an escape that is still the subject of investigation at the Department of Home Affairs.
With talks ongoing between the two sovereign nations, Bushiri has not been discreet. The Enlightened Christian Gathering church founder issued a statement on Wednesday morning, targeting Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi’s recent comments at a Parliamentary committee sitting.
The minister made it clear that his department was not solely complicit in Bushiri’s escape. It was the responsibility of the justice system to remand the pastor and his wife in custody.
After all, the couple owned five passports, all registered under different aliases, Motsoaledi alleged. The minister also touched on the murmurs of Malawi president Lazarus Chakwera’s alleged involvement in the escape.
Was Malawi’s president involved in the fugitive escape?
Coincidentally, Chakwera and his delegates were in South Africa on the day Bushiri and his wife conjured up the grand escape.
It was soon alleged that Bushiri may have used his close ties with the Malawian government to insert himself and his wife into the presidential flight that carried Chakwera.
However, Motsoaledi shot this down, claiming that all thorough checks were done before the plane took off.
“The passports were matched with the photos and faces of the members who were there, and they went into the plane but before the plane departed, it was definitely searched for the second time. Having convinced themselves that there was no sign of Mr and Mrs Bushiri, the plane was allowed to depart,” he said.
Bushiri launches attack on Motsoaledi
At this time, it is still not known how the pastor pulled it off. While those investigations are still ongoing, Bushiri issued a statement confirming that he and his wife have handed themselves over to authorities to face justice in a Malawian court of law.
“I need to underline that I came to Malawi not to seek political intervention. I came to Malawi to seek justice before the Constitution of the Republic of Malawi. I have strong belief in the Constitution of Malawi because it protects ts every citizen including my wife and I,” Bushiri wrote.
‘I will not get a fair trial in South Africa’
The pastor attacked Motsoaledi as misleading in his claims about fake passports. He insists that he “cannot have a fair trial in South Africa.”
“I am innocent until proven guilty. As of now, there is no court in the world that has proven me guilty. I may be subjected by media and public trial but I maintain my innocence until proven guilty,” he added.
Whether Bushiri will be extradited to South Africa rests in the hands of the Malawian government. Bushiri’s full statement can be read below:
#Bushiri has released a statement pic.twitter.com/K3b0MTa3PA
— Nomsa Maseko (@nomsa_maseko) November 18, 2020