Justice and Constitutional Development Minister, Thembi Simelane, announced on Friday that the department is actively addressing Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters and Extradition requests involving South Africa.
“We are committed to fulfilling our treaty and extradition obligations to ensure that justice is served in all relevant cases,” she told journalists.
The Minister was speaking during a media briefing where she outlined the priorities of her department in the seventh administration.
She told journalists that recent developments include ongoing efforts to extradite Prophet Shepherd Bushiri and his wife from Malawi, as well as the Gupta brothers from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
“These cases have faced several challenges, but we remain steadfast in our pursuit of accountability. Our teams are working diligently through diplomatic and legal channels to bring these matters to a resolution.”
Bushiri fled South Africa while he was out on bail for fraud and money laundering charges.
Meanwhile, Atul and Rajesh Gupta are accused in South Africa of profiting from their close links with the former President Jacob Zuma and exerting unfair influence.
She also touched on the case involving Kiernan ‘AKA’ Forbes and his friend Tebello ‘Tibz’ Motsoane, who were murdered in Durban in February last year.
The Minister said they were awaiting the judgment, which was heard this morning, on the main extradition application case involving Siyabonga and Malusi Ndimande in Eswatini.
The Manzini Magistrate’s Court has since granted the application to extradite the Ndimande brothers to South Africa in connection with the murder of the two friends.
According to reports, the two accused were arrested in Mbabane and have been in police custody ever since. – SAnews.gov.za
