Bester prison break: Nandipha Magudumana to join father in court
The case against Nandipha Magudumana and IT technician Teboho Lipholo has been postponed to 17 April.
The pair, who are now accused number three and four, has been linked to the 2022 escape of serial rapist and killer Thabo Bester from the privately-run Mangaung Correctional Centre in the Free State.
Magudumana arrived at the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court after spending hours being processed at a local police station.
She landed in South Africa on a chartered flight from Tanzania, under a heavy police guard, before being whisked off to Bloemfontein for her first court appearance.
Meanwhile, Bester is being kept at the Kgosi Mampuru maximum security prison where he is under 24-hour surveillance.
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At around lunchtime on Thursday, Bester’s alleged accomplice was escorted into the packed courtroom where she appeared alongside Lipholo who has been linked to tampering with the CCTV on the night Bester escaped.
Magistrate Mohlolo Khabisi granted the prosecution’s request to have the case combined with that of accused number one and two – Magudumana’s father Cornelius Sekeleni and former G4S employee Senohe Matsoara, who are also expected back in court on Monday.
“The lady and the gentleman, the case is hereby remanded until the 17th day of April 2023 in court number 20A. Both of you will remain in custody until then.”
The celebrity doctor hid behind a KN95 mask and the same hooded green jacket she has been seen with since news of her arrest in Arusha broke last week. She pulled the sleeves of her jacket over hands as she stood behind the dock with leg irons around her ankles.
Facing down, Magudumana nodded when asked by journalists if she is ok.
She, Bester, and a third suspect who is a Mozambican national were arrested last Friday after spending weeks on the run following a media expose on the elaborate prison break.
At the same time, Lipholo, who wore spectacles and a black winter jacket, was assisted by a translator as the magistrate explained his right to legal representation.
The duo will remain in police custody until their next appearance, where Magdumana will likely see her father for the first time since both of them were arrested.
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