Dr Nandipha Magudumana‘s bid for freedom faltered as the High Court dismissed her bail appeal on flight risk grounds.
Court clarifies why Dr Nandipha bail application was denied
On Tuesday, the Free State High Court in Bloemfontein quashed Magudumana’s application for bail, echoing the lower court’s concerns about potential absconding.
Dr Nandipha, alongside her lover Thabo Bester, faced charges stemming from the convicted murderer’s dramatic escape from Mangaung Correctional Centre in May 2022.
The couple’s arrest in Tanzania after a cross-border escape from South Africa was a key factor in the bail consideration.
Acting Judge Melissa Jordaan upheld the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court’s September ruling, delivered by Magistrate Estelle de Lange, that deemed Dr Nandipa a flight risk.
Despite her legal team’s argument refuting evidence of corruption or flight risk, Jordaan found no fault in de Lange’s judgment, affirming that the decision to deny bail was justified.
The saga began when Magudumana and Bester, a convicted rapist and murderer, were arrested in April 2023, not far from Arusha, Tanzania, after absconding from South Africa.
De Lange’s reasoning focused on Magudumana’s previous ability to evade national borders undetected, highlighting the inadequacy of any bail conditions to ensure her presence at trial.
Magudumana’s legal manoeuvres included a reserved right to bail, contingent on a separate legal challenge against the legitimacy of her arrest and extradition from Tanzania.
Dr Nandipha is expected to remain in custody until her matter in the main case resurfaces in court in February 2024.
