The eagerly awaited judgment in the urgent application by Dr Nandipha Magudumana to declare her arrest and deportation from Tanzania as unlawful is set to be delivered on Monday, 5 June 2023.
UPDATE:
On Monday, the Free State High Court in Bloemfontein dismissed Dr Nandipha Magudumana’s urgent application with costs.
In delivering the judgment, Judge Phillip Loubser highlighted that Magudumana was fully aware of the charges she would be facing during the handover process between the Tanzanian and South African governments upon her return. The judge also noted that Magudumana did not resist during the handover process, expressing her desire to reunite with her children in South Africa.
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Judge Loubser emphasised that Magudumana actively participated in the handover process and stated that if she had any concerns, she should address them with the Tanzanian government. The court had previously heard arguments from Magudumana’s legal representative, as well as advocates representing Home Affairs and the South African Police Services.
Dr Nandipha Tanzania arrest: How to watch live stream in South Africa
Dr Magudumana, the girlfriend of convicted killer and rapist Thabo Bester, claimed in court documents that she was not deported from Tanzania but rather abducted against her will.
The couple had fled South Africa following Bester’s escape from the Mangaung Correctional Facility last year, and they were apprehended in Arusha, Tanzania, along with a Mozambican national.
For those eager to follow the live proceedings of the judgment, various media outlets will be providing live-streaming coverage. Alternatively, you can refresh this page from 10:00 on Monday, 5 June 2023 to tune into the live stream.
NOTE: Court proceedings are expected to kick off at 10:00. If the live stream link is not playing by then, allow time for the host to launch the feed. The live stream link will be embedded below as soon as it becomes available.
On Thursday, 25 May 2023, the Free State High Court heard the case, which drew significant attention from both local and international media, civil society groups, and political parties.
Dr Magudumana is seeking to have her charges withdrawn, asserting that she was unlawfully held in Tanzania, where she was arrested in April 2023.
Following presentations from Dr Magudumana’s legal team and the State, Judge Phillip Loubser of the Free State High Court announced that the judgment would be delivered swiftly.
He assured the parties involved that he intends to promptly provide his ruling, stating,
“I don’t intend to take weeks; I intend to deliver judgment in this matter this coming Monday at [10:00] in this very same court.”
The State, on the other hand, has expressed its desire for the case to be dismissed with costs.
To support her quest for freedom, Dr Magudumana enlisted the services of prominent international advocate Anton Katz SC, who wasted no time in highlighting what he believes to be a disguised extradition.
However, the State contends that Tanzania deemed the accused to be in the country unlawfully.
Advocate Katz, representing Magudumana, argued that during the visit to Tanzania on 9 April 2023, the eight-member delegation was supposedly discussing the deportation of the celebrity doctor and Bester.
Yet, Katz disputed this notion, asserting that the couple was, in fact, extradited back to South Africa.
“This was not a deportation; it was actually a disguised unlawful extradition,” he argued.
The sixth respondent in the case, the Department of Home Affairs, dismissed the claims of abduction and maintained that all proper procedures were followed in bringing Dr Magudumana back to South Africa, where she was subsequently arrested upon arrival.
Advocate Petrus Joubert Zietsman, representing Home Affairs, referred to the notice from Tanzania declaring both Magudumana and Bester to be in the country illegally.
