Johannesburg - The Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court has denied disgraced Dr Nandipha Magudumana bail, saying she is a flight risk.
Magudumana appeared in court, hoping to be granted bail with her legal team telling the court that she posed no threat as the state confiscated her passport.
She was arrested in April this year in Arusha, Tanzania, with her boyfriend, convicted Facebook rapist and killer Thabo Bester.
She was shuttered, and her body language displayed disappointment when judgment was delivered.
Magistrate Estelle de Lange said that based on the State's prima facie evidence, there's no guarantee she will not evade trial. She said the court was guided by certain factors in its decision.
De Lange said that while the defence has argued that Magudumana cannot flee without her passport, the State's evidence suggests that she's capable of crossing borders without it.
De Lange is not convinced that Magudumana will not sell her movable assets and assist Bester with another alleged escape.
"In conclusion, I find that the applicant is a definite flight risk and that no bail condition will assist under the circumstances to limit the size.
“After weighing up the personal circumstances in the interest of the applicant and all their constitutional rights to freedom against the interests of justice, I find that she did not satisfy the decision that it is in the interest of justice for her to be released on bail," said De Lange.
De Lange’s decision had a lot to do with the strength of the evidence by the State, which included an abandoned Mercedes-Benz that crossed the border and was rented under her name, which she and Bester used to leave South Africa.
The court last week also heard her affidavit, in which Magudumana claimed she was kidnapped by Bester on March 17, 2023. She said Bester forced her into the car to go somewhere she did not know.
The State urged that she did not look like she was kidnapped because, on the day she and Bester appeared in court, the pair were smiling at each other and touching each other's hands.
De Lange said the court is not convinced that Magudumana was abducted.
The pair escaped from South Africa following news reports that Bester made a daring escape from the Mangaung Correctional Facility, run by the G4S security company.
Other accused in the Bester saga are former G4S prison warder Senohe Matsoara, Zanda Moyo (Magudumana’s father), Zollie Sekeleni, former Integritron Integrated Solutions camera technician Teboho Lipholo, suspended G4S employee Tieho Frans Makhotsa, former G4S guard Buti Masukela, suspended G4S employee Natassja Jansen, and G4S employees Joel Makhetha, Moeketsi Ramolula, and Thabang Mier, who were granted bail of R10 000.
The Star