Dr Nandipha Magudumana, the partner of convicted rapist and murderer Thabo Bester, has withdrawn her bail application due to new evidence that has emerged.
Thabo Bester prison escape
Magudumana and five other accused persons appeared in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court on Thursday for a bail application hearing after they were arrested for their alleged involvement in aiding Bester’s escape from prison last year.
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During their court appearance, Magudumana’s legal representatives informed the presiding magistrate that she would no longer pursue her bail application. However, they also indicated that this decision did not necessarily represent an abandonment of the application altogether.
Magudumana’s legal representative, advocate Frans Dlamini, has requested her bail application be reserved for 16 May 2023.
This is due to the emergence of “crucial evidence” which has prompted the need for further investigation.
“We were actually ready to proceed with the bail application, but after extensive consultation, it then emerged that there is material evidence which is very crucial in relation to accused number four’s [Magudumana] matter, which is also crucial in the interests of justice that it must be procured in order for accused number four to be able to make a decisive decision in relation to this matter,” said Dlamini.
Dlamini and advocate Machini Motloung are both representing Magudumana.
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The magistrate granted the postponement of Magudumana’s bail application to 16 May. She will be remanded in custody until then.
Other accused’s bail hearing
The other five accused in the matter – former G4S security supervisor Senohe Matsoara, suspended G4S guard Motenyane John Masukela, former G4S control room operators Tieho Frans Makhotsa and Nastassja Jansen as well as Integritron CCTV technician Teboho James Lipholo – will continue with their bail applications.
The media has been granted permission to cover the bail hearing but with certain restrictions. The magistrate ordered that the identities of the witnesses giving testimony must not be revealed, and their statements cannot be broadcast live.
The media can, however, pre-record the testimonies and air them later during their coverage.
Magudumana’s father, Zolile Cornelius Sekeleni, was granted bail of R10 000 last month. He is the only accused charged with Bester’s escape from prison who has been released on bail.
All seven suspects face charges of corruption, fraud, defeating the ends of justice, escaping from custody, assisting an inmate to escape, and violation of a body, among others.
Murder charges dropped
At their previous court appearance last week, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) withdrew the murder charge against them on a provisional basis following the presentation of additional evidence by the investigating team.
Bester escaped from the G4S-run Mangaung Correctional Centre (MCC) in Bloemfontein in May 2022, after it was initially believed he had died by suicide after setting himself alight in his cell.
An investigation revealed that the charred body that was used as a decoy during the prison escape belonged to Free State resident Katlego Bereng.
Bester and Magudumana were arrested last month, about 10km outside Arusha in Tanzania, after fleeing South Africa.
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