By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Dr Nandipha Magudumana’s application for leave to appeal the Free State High Court ruling that she had consented to return to South Africa, has been dismissed with costs.
Magudumana had asked the court in May to declare her arrest in Tanzania and extradition to South Africa unlawful. She was arrested alongside escaped convict Thabo Bester and currently faces several charges relating to the escape.
Judge Phillip Loubser, on Tuesday (18/7), dismissed her plea for leave to appeal a previous judgment delivered by himself. This is now her second failed attempt to prove the SAPS and Home Affairs acted illegally.
In her application for leave to appeal, Magudumana had argued that her consent was not proper consent; it was not in writing or unequivocal, and it could not override an unlawful act.
But Loubser disagreed and maintained that Magudumana had voluntarily returned to South Africa by saying that she wanted to return home to her children.
“I am not persuaded that another court would come to a different conclusion,” he said.
Her legal representatives argued that her arrest was a disguised extradition, with her advocate Kessler Perumalsamy questioning whether she gave her consent to be returned to South Africa. Her lawyers argued that the SAPS and the Department of Home Affairs gave two different versions of the events surrounding Magudumana’s arrest. It is alleged that an affidavit from the department says it was in charge of the Tanzanian operation and it executed arresting powers, while police insist Magudumana gave consent when she told officials that she wanted to come back to South Africa to be reunited with her children.
Magudumana is facing charges of violating a dead body. It is reported that she claimed the body of Katlego Bereng, who was used as a decoy in Bester’s escape. She has been in custody since her detention and earlier reserved her right to a bail application.
It is also alleged that Magudumana claimed the body of another man, whose identity has since been released by the Free State police. The body was found by police in Modder River, allegedly with a tag still intact, in April 2022, a few days before Bester’s escape.
So far, 12 people have been arrested for allegedly aiding Bester’s escape. Ten of the accused, including Magudumana’s father, Zolile Sekeleni, have been granted bail of R10 000 each.
The suspects are set to appear in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court on 8 August.
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