Prophet Shephard Bushiri appears at the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court.

The extradition hearing of self-proclaimed prophet Shepherd Bushiri and his wife, Mary, in Lilongwe, Malawi, has been delayed after the matter was postponed to Monday.

READ | Slap on the wrist for cop accused of using Bushiri money to facilitate dropping of rape charges against her husband

This comes after Bushiri’s legal team made an application for the recusal of the magistrate in the case, citing “evident bias”.

“We were ready to proceed but when we went to court we realised that the court had changed magistrates, which took us by surprise. We have information that it is the same magistrate who issued a warrant of arrest against our clients,” his lawyer Wapona Kita told the media outside the lower court in Lilongwe, Malawi, on Monday morning.

“The warrant of arrest is being challenged in the High Court, therefore we are making a formal application for his recusal. He should not handle the matter,” he added.

Bushiri and his wife, Mary, obtained an interdict in the High Court of Malawi which will prevent the Malawi police and the Director of Public Prosecutions from effecting an arrest, their lawyer has said.The order was granted on 21 February 2021, News24 previously reported.

Bushiri’s legal team has been given five days to file a formal application.

The couple is wanted in South Africa in connection with a fraud and money laundering case, allegedly to the tune of R102 million.They, however, fled the country to their homeland just a few days after they were granted bail of R200 000 each – under strict conditions – in the Pretoria Central Magistrate’s Court.

More to follow.

Do you want to know more about this topic? Sign up for one of News24’s 33 newsletters to receive the information you want in your inbox. Special newsletters are available to subscribers.