‘Flight risk’ Nandipha Magudumana denied bail

The girlfriend of Facebook rapist Thabo Bester, Nandipha Magudumana, has been denied bail.

Magudumana appeared in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court on Monday for her bail application after she was jailed for her alleged role in Bester’s escape from the Mangaung Correctional Centre in Bloemfontein.

Bail denied

In delivering judgment, Magistrate Estelle de Lange, who presided over the matter, said the onus was on Magudumana to prove on balance of probabilities that it is in the interest of justice for her to be released on bail.

De Lange said no bail condition would guarantee that Magudumana will stand trial as she was previously able to leave South Africa and cross three borders without a passport.

“I find that the applicant is a definite flight risk and that no bail condition will assist under the circumstances to limit this risk. After weighing up the personal circumstances and the interests of the applicant and her constitutional right in the interests of justice, I find, that she did not satisfy the court that it is in the interests of justice for her to be released on bail.

“It is however in the interest of justice that matters be tried and that a verdict obtained in a court of law and this can only happen if the person stands trial. Therefore, the application to be released on bail is refused, de Lange ruled.

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Magudumana previously reserved her right to bail, pending the outcome of an application to have her arrest and extradition from Tanzania declared unlawful.

Magudumana is expected to remain in custody at the Bizzah Makhate prison in Kroonstad.

Arrest

Bester and Magudumana were arrested in April, about 10km out of Arusha, Tanzania, after fleeing the hotel they were staying in.

Bester escaped from the Mangaung Correctional Centre in Bloemfontein in May 2022. It was initially believed he had committed suicide by setting himself alight in his cell.

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