Magistrate Thandi Theledi had the court in stitches when she ordered the interpreter, as a formality, to call accused number four and five, pastor Shepherd Bushiri and his wife Mary, to stand in the dock at the Pretoria magistrate's court on Thursday.
“Prophet Shepherd Bushiri and Mary Bushiri,” screamed the interpreter repeatedly in the corridors. And with no answer, the bail application of the Bushiris' co-accused - Zambian citizen Willah Mudolo, his wife Zethu and Lindiwe Ntlokwana - resumed.
The accused, along with the Bushiris, have been charged with fraud and money laundering to the tune of more than R100m. The application continued without the Bushiris, who skipped the country last month, contravening their bail conditions. The South African government is in the process of securing extradition and investigating the circumstances surrounding their escape.
Home affairs official Brendan Adams took the stand on Thursday to continue his evidence under cross-examination. He told the court that he investigated Mudolo’s citizenship status which found that the businessman was in SA illegally.
The court heard that Mudolo’s visa expired in April this year.
Adams said he interviewed Mudolo on two occasions to ascertain his status.
“The first time was at the Pretoria police station and the second was at the Kgosi Mampuru correctional services centre, where he is detained. The first interview was done without his lawyer and it was to establish whether he was in the country legally.”
He went on to say that it was during the second interview that home affairs established that Mudolo was in the country illegally.
“I didn’t detain him because he was already in custody,” said Adams.
The defence argued that Mudolo still had time to apply for a visa because home affairs gave citizens until the end of January to do so, due to the Covid-19 lockdown.
Adams disagreed, saying Mudolo’s visa expired before the extension was granted, which meant that he is still in the country illegally.
The bail hearing continues.
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