Home Affairs to revoke Magudumana’s passport, demands that she drops her case challenging arrest

The Department of Home Affairs has announced that it will revoke Dr Nandipha Magudumana’s passport and has demanded that she drops her urgent court application challenging her arrest in Tanzania.

Thabo Bester prison escape

Home Affairs Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi briefed the media on Monday morning in Pretoria, on the issuance of an identity document to convicted rapist and murderer, Thabo Bester.

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The minister also shed light on Magudumana’s urgent court application, which seeks to declare her arrest and subsequent deportation in Tanzania as “wrongful and unlawful”.

Last month, Bester and Magudumana were arrested in Arusha after they fled the country when it emerged that Bester had faked his own death in a fire at the Mangaung Correctional Centre in May last year. The couple was apprehended along with a Mozambican national, who has since been deported to his home country.

‘Strong legal grounds’ to revoke passport

Motsoaledi revealed that the Department of Home Affairs sought legal advice indicating “strong legal grounds” to proceed with the revocation of Magudumana’s passport. This decision stems from the fact that Magudumana was deported from Tanzania, and the expenses incurred during the process were paid by the South African government.

Because of this, the minister said Magudumana “no longer deserves” her passport which was issued to her in February 2017.

“The director-general will be taking due legal process steps in terms of the South African Passports and Travel Documents Act to revoke the passport issued to Dr Nandipha Magudumana on 16 February 2017, which is due to expire 15 February 2027,” said Motsoaledi.

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In a previous media briefing held last month, the department disclosed that when Magudumana was arrested in Tanzania, she was found in possession of three passports.

Among these passports, two were identified as belonging to celebrity doctor Mmereka Ntshani, better known as Dr Pashy. The remaining passport was confirmed to be that of Magudumana.

“This is the passport we are revoking in terms of the law because she no longer deserves to be having it,” said Motsoaledi.

Urgent court application

Meanwhile, Motsoaledi also revealed that home affairs will also oppose Magudumana’s urgent court application challenging her arrest, which she has described as an abduction.

The application is set to be heard on Thursday, in the Bloemfontein High Court.

According to the minister, the Department of Home Affairs’ Director General (DG), Livhuwani Makhode, only received the court papers on Sunday. He said Makhode was “shocked” by the fact that neither the Department of Home Affairs nor Motsoaledi were cited as respondents in the case.

This is because the department was involved in Bester and Magudumana’s deportation to SA from the beginning.

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Motsoaledi said the DG wrote a letter to Magudumana’s attorneys raising objections to the nonjoinder and demanded that she removes her application from the urgent court roll.

“The letter corrected the wrong stance adopted by Dr Nandipha Magudumana that she was unlawfully abducted or extradited from the United Republic of Tanzania.

“Dr Nandipha Magudumana and Thabo Bester were declared prohibited immigrants in terms of the immigration laws of Tanzania, and were therefore, as a matter of law, liable to be deported back to South Africa,” said Motsoaledi.

Abduction

The minister also denied Magudumana’s claims that she was abducted from Tanzania by South African authorities.

“We could also not undermine the United Republic of Tanzania, which is a sovereign state. If you get into a country and then abduct someone, you are actually undermining the sovereignty of that state and we are working very well with the Tanzanians.”

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