Startling reports recently surfaced on social media, claiming Dr Nandipha Magudumana was enjoying five-star living conditions at Bizzah Makhate prison due to her alleged romantic ‘acquaintance’ with the department’s area commissioner, Jacob Mbhele.
Corrections Dept clears the air on Dr Nandipha living conditions at Bizzah prison
Renowned microbloggers sent shockwaves reverberating across the internet on Wednesday when images of Mbhele, Magudumana and a woman reportedly linked to the area commissioner surfaced alongside claims that the trio was involved in a heated affair.
The source of the ‘bombshells’, a buzzing Facebook account under the name ‘Baas Kruger’, claimed to have obtained intimate details of Mbhele’s far-reaching influence inside Bizzah prison’s organogram.
So much so, his alleged affair with Magudumana has allegedly afforded her a hospice lifestyle inside one of the toughest correctional facilities in South Africa.
“As society wonders why Magudumane is always glowing and looking her best in her court appearances, she doesn’t face the harsh realities subjected to other prisoners, that’s why she’s always happily smiling and glowing in court- she’s treated with pampering in the hospital and not held in a prison cell. Five-star treatment courtesy of Mbhele,” the account alleged.
The account’s claims, which can be read below, made several shocking allegations about Mbhele but Magudumana’s piqued our interest, considering the weight of her alleged crimes.
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In a statement to Swisher Post, the Department of Correctional Services not only rubbished the account’s claims as fake but spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo categorically dismissed allegations concerning Dr Nandipha’s ‘five-star’ living conditions as “purely malicious and without substance.”
“There is no way that Management and the Regional Office would allow lawlessness to take place from any Management Area in this country. There are prescribed processes in terms of admitting inmates, classifying them and detaining them,” Nxumalo explained.
Moreover, the department’s spokesperson revealed the account in question belongs to a person with “a long history of trying to destabilise the Management Area by attacking the Area Commissioner of Bizzah Makhate.”
“The allegations raised by this person in the past were all proven to be without substance and disciplinary steps are currently underway,” Nxumalo added.
From what we understand, the disgraced doctor is remanded in a prison section reserved for offenders awaiting trial.
Magudumana will return to court on 8 August 2023, alongside her lover Thabo Bester and other co-accused, to face the latest hurdle in her intriguing prison escape case.