Senziwe Dhlomo
Dr. Nandipha Magudumana’s request for bail has been denied by the Bloemfontein High Court.
Magudumana would need to file a case with the Supreme Court of Appeal to overturn the High Court of Bloemfontein’s decision to deny her bail plea, according to legal analyst Dikeledi Moeti.
Acting Judge Melissa Jordaan concluded that the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court made the right decision in denying her bail, citing Magudumana’s primary involvement in Thabo Bester’s escape from the Mangaung Correctional Centre, where he was convicted of murder and rape.
After being apprehended in Tanzania, the two were sent back to South Africa to stand trial. The Bloemfontein Correctional Centre is presently housing Magudumana.
The Magistrate faulted in concluding that Magudumana knew she would not return to the country when she departed, according to Machini Motloung, Magudumana’s attorney. Jordaan, however, rejected this claim, stating that the state’s evidence strongly demonstrated Magudumana’s risk of escape.
According to Moeti, Magudumana was also discovered in possession of several unstamped passports. She claims that because she has been determined to be a flight risk, there is little chance that she will be granted bail.
“She still has the legal route to go through, she can still approach the SCA for petitioning it in order to get it, but it’s not going to be successful on the basis that first, remember on the conditions of bail application she is a flight risk; found with different passports that were not stamped; and she does not have an address currently.”
