Supreme Court of Appeal dismisses Magudumana's bid to have her arrest declared unlawful
Justice Tati Makgoka delivered the judgment on Friday, adding Magudumana’s bid has been dismissed with costs.
Nandipha Magudumana appeared at the the Bloemfontein High Court on 5 June 2024. Picture: Katlego Jiyane/Eyewitness News
JOHANNESBURG – Disgraced Dr Nandipha Magudumana's bid to have her arrest declared unlawful has been dismissed with costs by the Supreme Court in Bloemfontein.
Magudumana was apprehended in Tanzania in 2023 while on the run with her lover and accomplice, convicted murderer Thabo Bester.
She is accused of helping Bester escape from the Mangaung prison where he was serving a life sentence.
Magudumana argued that police abducted her from Tanzania in a disguised extradition, which was unlawful.
Magudumana approached the Supreme Court of Appeal to challenge a High Court ruling which found that her deportation from Tanzania and her arrest were lawful
But police said she consented to her return to South Africa, as she wanted to return to her children.
On Friday morning, Justice Tati Makgoka handed down the judgement in under two minutes.
“The order of the majority judgement reads as follows - the appeal is dismissed with costs, including the costs of counsel who were so employed.”
Makgoka noted that there was a dissenting view with a minority judgement in Magudumana’s favour.
Magudumana will remain behind bars ahead of the start of her trial with her accomplice Thabo Bester and others.