South Africa (MaraviPost): In appearance in court cut short when prosecution revealed refusal of witnesses to attend court due to fears of COVID-19, The Major asked why it was not risky for him and his wife to be in court.
In his own words made available to the Maravi Post, Bushiri writes
This morning, my wife and I appeared at the Pretoria High Court for a trial which was postponed on the 29th November 2019. During our appearance, the prosecutors applied for the court to postpone the trial till next year July, because their 29 witnesses refused to come to court because of Covid-19.
My wife and I, together with our lawyers, took the risk in spite of Covid-19 and attended court. How is Covid-19 dangerous to the witnesses and not for my wife and me? I ask…
I instructed our lawyers to vehemently oppose the postponement to next year, as we have been on remand for over a year already. Our lawyers indeed gave a detailed history and opposed the postponement.
You will remember that at the time of our arrest, the state claimed they had evidence and wanted to go to trial. However, at each appearance they have asked for more time.
We are disappointed that the Judge has granted a postponement for the State to get their house in order. The President of South Africa has announced that we should learn to live with Covid-19 in our lives. Therefore, this trial should have proceeded because it was booked for the whole month of August.
I feel this is unfair, seeing my lawyers were ready to proceed with the trial.
We have faith in the justice system of this nation; we do believe that we will get justice one day and we will be able to live our lives freely.
We remain ready for the trial in order to clear our names.
We are incredibly grateful for your prayers and support.