The minister on Tuesday appeared before parliament’s home affairs committee to explain the debacle.
CAPE TOWN – Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi on Tuesday said his department was not the only one responsible for Shepherd Bushiri’s escape from the country.
Motsoaledi said a number of other departments in the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster would also shoulder some responsibility for allowing Bushiri and his wife Mary to flee to Malawi.
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The minister appeared before Parliament’s home affairs committee to explain the debacle. He acknowledged the country’s porous borders made it easier for Bushiri and his wife to slip through undetected.
Motsoaledi confirmed to MPs that the Bushiris were in the country illegally with fraudulent papers.
The minister said their businesses were also not legally registered.
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On how Bushiri managed to skip bail and flee, Motsoaledi said other state agencies had to investigate.
“All those clusters and ministers are involved in this matter of Bushiri. So, any report that will come to Parliament will come through that cluster. And coincidentally for the whole morning yesterday, the ministers of the cluster met and they also met with their technical teams,” the minister said.
Motsoaledi has, however, explained to members that there was no evidence to support claims Bushiri could have left with the Malawi president who was in South Africa on official business.
“The passports were matched with the photos and faces of the members who were there, and they went into the plane but before the plane departed, it was definitely searched for the second time. Having convinced themselves that there was no sign of Mr and Mrs Bushiri, the plane was allowed to depart,” he said.