NANDIPHA Magudumana, the disgraced doctor accused of aiding convicted killer Thabo Bester’s daring prison escape, will have to wait to learn the outcome of her appeal challenging the legality of her arrest in Tanzania.
Her Supreme Court of Appeal hearing took place in Bloemfontein on Thursday, where her legal team argued that her April 2023 arrest violated international extradition protocols.
Magudumana and her lover Bester were detained in Tanzania after fleeing South Africa when it was revealed that Bester had faked his death and escaped from the Mangaung Correctional Centre.
The duo, along with seven others, including Magudumana’s father, Zolile Sekeleni, face multiple charges such as fraud, corruption, violating a corpse and defeating the ends of justice.
Their trial is set to begin at the Bloemfontein High Court on 10 February 2025.
During the appeal, Advocate Anton Katz, representing Magudumana, contended that South African officials unlawfully orchestrated her arrest in Tanzania in breach of Southern African Development Community extradition protocols.
Katz further argued that the presence of South African police during her capture in Tanzania was improper and that her deportation was, in fact, a covert extradition.
The state, however, insists that Magudumana consented to be brought back to South Africa. Advocate Mthunzi Mhaga, speaking for the National Prosecuting Authority, dismissed her claims, saying the defence had failed to convincingly show any unlawful conduct by the South African police.
The bench of five judges sought clarity on whether Magudumana was formally arrested by South African officials in Tanzania, a critical element of her claim.
Judgment has been reserved, with Mhaga expressing hope for a ruling before the year’s end and maintaining confidence that her appeal would be unsuccessful, even if escalated to the Constitutional Court. – Staff Reporter