By Jonk wa Mashamba
news@alexreporter.co.za
HAWKS denies knowledge of Bushiri’s visit to South Africa, as reported by City Press.
The City Press reported that the infamous shepherd Bushiri was in South Africa in April but escaped again without being arrested.
This report didn’t sit well with the Hawks.
In the statement released on Sunday 20 June, the spokesperson for the Hawks ,Lieutenant Colonel Philani Nkwalase said:
“We are on record of having arrested Bushiri and brought him to a competent court to answer to criminal charges laid against him. He was granted bail and did not comply with the conditions of bail to appear on a specified date. A warrant of arrest was then granted which requires us to execute.
“It is common cause that he is currently in his country of birth.
“A process of bringing him back, is dealt with by the competent authority in line with extradition arrangements.
“At the right time we will bring the country into confidence once there are notable developments on that process.
“We will therefore not be drawn to comment on speculation on this matter. We therefore appeal to anyone with credible evidence that support these speculations that are doing rounds to come forward with that information to the police.”
Bushiri and his wife Mary were arrested in SA in October on charges of money laundering, fraud and theft. They were out on R200,000 bail each when they fled the country, citing safety reasons.
In a post on Facebook on Sunday, Bushiri also took a swipe at City Press and labelled the report as fake news.
“It is very unfortunate that you have decided to call me guilty even before I have been given the legal opportunity to prove my innocence.
“This is why you keep pushing your media propaganda forward. But your presumptions will always prove to be what they are — presumptions and baseless,” Bushiri said.
