Witness reporter believes she may have been misled by Dr Nandipha

The girlfriend of “Facebook rapist” and prison escapee Thabo Bester, Dr Nandipha Sekeleni Magudumana has always described herself as a small-town girl from the South Coast.

Though she was born in Bizana, a village in the Eastern Cape, her family later moved to Port Edward in KwaZulu-Natal, where she was raised and attended Port Edward Primary and Port Shepstone High School.

ALSO READ | Thabo Bester re-arrested after shocking prison break

The aesthetic doctor’s reputation has recently been turned upside down owing to her involvement in the prison break of her boyfriend, convicted rapist and murderer Bester, for which she may face jail time.

She made her first appearance in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court on Thursday after being extradited back to the country from Tanzania, where she had fled with Bester.

She faces charges of murder and aiding and abetting. National police commissioner General Fanie Masemola further revealed that she will also face a charge of fraud and another of violating the body of the deceased.

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Her case was postponed to April 17 for bail information and possible bail application.

Magudumana was an inspiration to many
Before she was known as a fugitive linked to the Bester saga, the doctor had inspired many women at empowerment events, where she would encourage women to understand their “power and be themselves in a world that expects them to be someone else”.

The aesthetics physician has now left many who may have been inspired by her talks in the past questioning her authenticity, and Witness reporter Khethukuthula Xulu believes she may be one of them.

In 2019, Xulu attended a women’s empowerment event in Durban that had an amazing line-up of prominent and inspirational powerhouses, and Dr Magudumana was on the panel.

ALSO READ | Opinion | The Bester story

Xulu left that event, inspired and empowered by Magudumana’s sense of authority and encouragement to women to “take ownership of themselves”.

Her qualifications and the fact that she was juggling her business with motherhood was what pulled me towards her.
Magudumana holds a Bachelor of Health Sciences (BHSc) degree in biomedical sciences from the University of the Witwatersrand. She also obtained her Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) degrees from Wits University.

“At the event, Magudumana shared her journey and the experiences that shaped her, saying that women should understand that what makes them is not that they are individuals but ‘they are a whole community’.

“She told us that she was going to teach us what it meant to be true to ourselves and the power of self.”
Xulu said throughout the event, Magudumana told women that they should measure themselves according to their experience, growth and contribution to the community.

“I have held onto those words and applied them to my own life. Even now, at a time when she may be facing jail time, I find it hard to merge the Nandipha I met on the day of the event and the fugitive.

“It has become a joke within my friends’ group chats that I was once a ‘true believer’ and I was also fooled by her charm, even more so when I tell them I left the event with a daily planner with her face and inspirational quote on it.”
Magudumana’s father was also arrested and charged with murder, arson, fraud and defeating the ends of justice

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