Nandipha Magudumana is expected to appear before the Bloemfontein magistrate’s court on Tuesday for a bail application.
Nandipha Magudumana is among the 12 people accused of aiding convicted rapist and murderer Thabo Bester to escape from the Mangaung Correctional Centre in the Free State in May 2022.
She previously chose to abandon bail to contest the legality of her deportation from the Republic of Tanzania, where she was apprehended while attempting to flee the country with Bester, her lover.
However, the high court in Bloemfontein in July dismissed her application for leave to appeal.
Application for leave to appeal
Arguing that her deportation on April 13 was unlawful, Nandipha Magudumana approached the high court arguing that consent cannot be given to unconstitutional and illegal conduct.
During the proceedings her representative, advocate Kessler Perumalsamy, asserted that the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) would arrive at a different conclusion regarding her alleged consent to being brought back to South Africa.
He posed several questions including the circumstances and recipients of the consent, emphasising a need to clarify whether the constitution permits consent to unconstitutional conduct.
Perumalsamy highlighted that the judgment labelling Magudumana’s return as a disguised extradition instead of deportation, as authorities had claimed, constituted unconstitutional conduct.
Contrary to this stance advocate Neil Snellenburg SC, representing the police and the National Prosecuting Authority, argued that the application lacked reasonable prospects of success.
Snellenburg pointed out that Magudumana had not willingly disclosed her activities in Tanzania, highlighting her shift away from claiming abduction and her desire to return to her children.
He emphasised that the law often hinges on logic and asserted that the facts of the case were clear: Magudumana wanted to come home and did so.
Advocate Louis Pohl SC, representing Home Affairs, expressed a willingness to abide by the court’s decision, refraining from taking a position on the matter. He said the department would abide by whatever the court ordered.
Handing down the judgment, judge Phillip Loubser said: “Having regard to all the submissions made on behalf of the applicant in the present application for leave, I am of the view that those submissions cannot be successful in light of the findings of facts made by this court in the application launched by the applicant.
“I am therefore not persuaded that another court would come to a different conclusion or that there are other compelling reasons why the matter should proceed on appeal.
“The following order is therefore made, the application for leave to appeal is dismissed with costs.”
Claims of inhumane treatment and abuse
In a statement issued last week from the Bizzah Makhete Correctional Centre in Kroonstad, Magudumana, claimed that she has suffered physical and sexual abuse at the hands of high esteemed men during her incarceration.
In her message, she outlined the difficulties she has faced since her fall from grace stating that she has resorted to finding strength in deep conversations with God during these challenging times.
“The many painful times I have suffered physical, emotional, financial and sexual abuse at the hands of powerful men, including some of the most powerful and prominent families in South Africa currently occupying the highest offices in government and business.
“My painful experience at the correctional facility including the plight of woman inmates and the violation of their human rights.
“I would like to assure you that I am holding on, in faith,” she said.
Allegations of inhumane treatment towards Magudumana and her partner Bester also emerged from the previous court appearance where they appeared together with 10 other co-accused.
The alleged treatment conditions during their detention and transit from Tanzania where they were caught are currently being investigated.
The duo and the rest of the crew are due back in court on October 11 for a joined appearance.
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