Parliament's home affairs portfolio committee wants minister Aaron Motsoaledi to explain how Shepherd Bushiri and his wife Mary left SA without their passports.
Committee chairperson Bongani Bongo confirmed to Sunday Times Daily that the committee will convene an urgent meeting on Tuesday, and has invited Motsoaledi and acting director-general Jackson McKay to explain how was it possible for the Bushiris to leave SA without passports after they were granted bail.
“It is concerning that a well-known couple was able to leave the republic of SA without being noticed and without passports,” Bongo said in a letter to Motsoaledi.
“If they used their passports, from which port of entry did they exit SA? And what action has the department of home affairs taken to ensure that home affairs officials involved are disciplined, and that a matter of this nature does not occur in future?” he said.
In August, the department of home affairs issued a notice to Bushiri to give cause why his permanent residence permit should not be revoked, saying he had obtained it through misrepresentation.
“This notice is a normal procedure followed when such documents are to be revoked,” Motsoaledi's spokesperson Siya Qoza said at the weekend.
Qoza said Bushiri rushed to court, asking not respond to home affairs until he appears in court in May 2021 on the criminal charges of fraud, corruption and money laundering.
“Unfortunately, the court agreed with him that the department of home affairs suspend its action until he pleads in the criminal case in May next year,” Qoza said.
The department did not agree with the judgment and lodged an appeal on October 22. The application for leave to appeal was heard this past Friday and judgment was reserved, he said.
Bushiri and his wife allegedly fled to Malawi for their safety a week after each being granted R200,000 bail by the Pretoria magistrate’s court.
Bushiri, Mary, Landiwe Ntlokwana Zethu and Willie Mudolo are facing charges of theft, money laundering and fraud in connection with an alleged R100m investment scheme.
The Bushiris and their co-accused were released on bail 12 days ago after their arrest last month.
The Bushiris’ bail conditions saw them barred from travelling outside SA, and only permitted to travel in Gauteng and the North West. Along with their co-accused, they:
- had to report every Monday and Friday to their nearest police station;
- were barred from disposing of any property;
- had to hand over to the state the original title deed to their R5.5m property in Midstream Estate, Centurion; and
- were barred from threatening witnesses and the investigation and prosecution teams, even while preaching.
LISTEN | Shepherd Bushiri and his wife Mary get bail of R200,000 each
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