Dr Nandipha Magudumana, along with her partner Thabo Bester who is a convicted murderer and rapist, and their suspected accomplice from Mozambique, was apprehended in Tanzania on April 7. They were subsequently extradited to South Africa on April 13. Dr Magudumana is now requesting the court to release her without delay.
By Staff Reporter
Dr Nandipha Magudumana, who stands accused of aiding the prison escape of convicted murderer and rapist Thabo Bester and evading the law, is seeking legal recourse to challenge the legitimacy of her arrest and purported “abduction” in Tanzania in April, contending that it was “wrong and unlawful”.
According to the 24-hour television news channel eNCA, Dr Magudumana is seeking immediate release from detention and a declaration from a judge that all orders and warrants against her are null and void.
Last Friday, her legal representatives filed papers in the Free State High Court in Bloemfontein.
Dr Magudumana’s attorney, Machini Motloung, told News24 that all parties involved in the urgent application to be heard on May 25 were served with legal documents.
The spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in the Free State, Phaladi Shuping, confirmed to News24 that they received the papers on Friday before the close of business, although he said: “I have not seen the papers. I honestly don’t know the contents.”
Legal expert pours cold water on Magudumana bid
Melusi Xulu, a legal expert who spoke to the SABC, dismissed Nandipha Magudumana’s attempt to have the Bloemfontein High Court rule that her arrest in Tanzania and subsequent deportation to South Africa were unlawful.
Xulu told the SABC that Tanzania’s immigration laws provide for the deportation of illegal immigrants.
“The Tanzanian Immigration Act says in section 14(2a-c) that if you are illegal in that country, or you’re a prohibited immigrant, the minister can deport you. So, the question is, was she arrested unlawfully by Tanzania? Was she an illegal immigrant in Tanzania, and if the answer is no, then she was arrested lawfully in Tanzania.
“Then it turned out that there was a warrant of arrest in South Africa, and that’s how she was brought to South Africa, so that she can face the alleged crimes that she committed, amongst them aiding Mr Bester, to escape from prison,” explained Xulu.
Xulu asserted that the absence of evidence to substantiate the claim of an unlawful arrest would render the bid devoid of any potential for success.
Meanwhile, during a press conference on Monday, the Department of Home Affairs stated unequivocally that Dr Magudumana was lawfully deported from Tanzania and was not “abducted” or “kidnapped”, as she claimed in her court papers.
Aaron Motsoaledi, Minister of Home Affairs, explained that representatives from his department were part of a multi-disciplinary team that travelled to Tanzania to repatriate Magudumana and Thabo Bester. Tanzanian authorities had declared the two, illegal immigrants and had ordered them to leave the country within three days.
According to Motsoaledi, the process was not unlawful and said he found it suspicious that Magudumana did not mention the Home Affairs department or minister in the court documents. He also mentioned that they only obtained the papers on Sunday afternoon.
He revealed that his department was not informed about Magudumana’s court application until they read about it in the media at the weekend. He said he has now sent a letter to Magudumana’s legal representatives, requesting that the department be included in the lawsuit.