The case of Nandipha Magudumana, a high-society doctor who fell in love with a convicted murderer and allegedly helped him escape from prison, has been gripping South Africa for several weeks.
Source: AFP
The woman appeared in a Bloemfontein court on Monday, charged with various charges, including murder, after she eloped lovers were apprehended in Tanzaniafter a persecution that had the country in suspense.
Wearing peach Nike sneakers and ankle chains, Magudumana, 34, applied for bail but did not speak. After the adjournment of the case she was taken into custody.
During the hearing, he briefly removed the mask he was wearing to show his face, forced by the judge.
Monday’s hearing was the latest chapter in a case that has dominated headlines ever since police had to admit that Magudumana’s lover, Thabo Bester, had escaped from jail.
Bester faked his own death leaving a charred corpse in his cella spectacular leak that has triggered a parliamentary investigation, between accusations of lack of controls and complicity of officials.
He President Cyril Ramaphosa said he was “disturbed” by the casewhich captivates especially because Magudumana went from a doctor from high society to a fugitive.
This mother of two children ran a successful clinic specializing in skin care and in aesthetic treatments in the luxurious Sandton district of Johannesburg.
She was very active on social media, boasting on Instagram of her lifestyle, with luxury cars, vacations at high-end resorts, and beautiful villas.
He often posed with his clients, many of them celebrities, and she was regarded as a role model for young South Africans.
The doctor, separated from her husband since 2019, now faces charges of complicity with a fugitive, murder, desecration of a corpse and fraud.
To flee abroad with her lover, she left her children behind.
– Runaway Lovers –
Thabo Bester, nicknamed the “Facebook rapist”, Sentenced to life imprisonment in 2012, he lured his victims on that social network to rape and rob them and killed at least one.
Almost a year ago escaped from a private prison but the police did not confirm it until last month.
In May 2022, the charred corpse of a man was found in Bester’s cell, leading prison authorities to believe that he had set himself on fire.
But DNA revealed that the corpse belonged to another person and his identity is still unknown.
Bester’s case resurfaced in October last year, when investigative journalism organization GroundUp raised questions about his death.
The South African authorities, under public pressure after details of his escape were discovered, began searching for him.
Bester and Magudumana were arrested in early April in Arushaa town in Tanzania, when it is believed they were heading to the Kenyan border, along with another alleged accomplice.
Police said the suspects were in possession of several unstamped passports.
The couple were flown back to South Africa on a specially chartered plane and taken into custody.
Four other people were arrested in connection with the escape plan, including the doctor’s father, who allegedly helped Bester escape from prison and was linked to the murder of the man found in the cell.
