By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Dr Nandipha Magudumana escorted out of court after appearing in the Bloemfontein magistrate court where she’s been charged with murder and aiding and abetting a convicted criminal to escape. She will join her father, Zolile Cornelius Sekeleni in the dock next week.
The accomplice of convicted murderer Thabo Bester, Dr Nandipha Magudumana, has been remanded in custody after making her first court appearance.
Magudumana appeared in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court on Thursday afternoon on charges of aiding and abetting an escape from prison, murder, violation of bodies and fraud.
She landed in South Africa on a chartered flight from Tanzania, under a heavy police guard, before being whisked off to Bloemfontein for her court appearance.
Bester meanwhile, is being kept at the Kgosi Mampuru maximum security prison where he is under 24-hour surveillance.
At around lunchtime, Magudumana was escorted into the packed courtroom where she appeared alongside Tebogo James Dipholo, an employee contracted to a company that installs CCTV cameras at the Mangaung Correctional Centre (MMC).
Magistrate Mohlolo Khabisi granted the prosecution’s request to have the case combined with that of accused number one and two – Magudumana’s father Cornelius Sekeleni and former G4S employee Senohe Matsoara, who are also expected back in court on Monday.
“The lady and the gentleman, the case is hereby remanded until the 17th day of April 2023 in court number 20A. Both of you will remain in custody until then.”
The celebrity doctor hid behind a KN95 mask and the same hooded green jacket she has been seen with since news of her arrest in Arusha broke last week. She pulled the sleeves of her jacket over hands as she stood behind the dock with leg irons around her ankles.
Facing down, Magudumana nodded when asked by journalists if she is ok.
She, Bester, and a third suspect who is a Mozambican national were arrested last Friday after spending weeks on the run following a media expose on the elaborate prison break.
At the same time, Lipholo, who wore spectacles and a black winter jacket, was assisted by a translator as the magistrate explained his right to legal representation.
The duo will remain in police custody until their next appearance, where Magdumana will likely see her father for the first time since both of them were arrested.
Meanwhile South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) has called on government to immediately terminate the G4S contract to run the Mangaung correctional facility.
The private security company runs the facility in Bloemfontein in a 25-year public-private partnership with government.
The contract is expected to run until 2026.
In a statement the federation said the partnerships are not helping the government in terms of costs, and create a two-tier prison system unnecessarily.
“It is clear that government is not getting any value for its money, the Private Public Partnerships are just a ploy to socialise risks on behalf of private companies whilst allowing them companies to privatise profits.
“The prevailing myths that privately run institutions are efficient, competent, and cost effective for government have been shattered by the Thabo Bester saga and the revelations of how much government spends in these Private-Public Partnerships (PPPs).”
“SAFTU is calling on the parliamentarians to recommend to the Department of Correctional Service an immediate termination of the contract with G4S and the subsequent takeover of the facility by the government.”