SCA to rule on Magudumana extradition

The ruling will determine whether her return to South Africa from Tanzania was lawful and whether she should remain in custody.

Magudumana approached the appellate court after the Free State High Court in Bloemfontein dismissed her initial bid to have her arrest and extradition declared unlawful.

She was arrested in April 2023 in Arusha, Tanzania, alongside her alleged partner, convicted murderer and rapist Thabo Bester. 

The pair were found together after Bester’s dramatic 2022 escape from Mangaung Correctional Centre.

Her legal team, led by Advocate Anton Katz, has argued that her removal from Tanzania was not a formal extradition but a forced rendition — a process that violates both international and domestic legal standards.

In written arguments and in court during hearings in November 2024, Katz raised concerns about the involvement of South African officials in the Tanzanian arrest, suggesting they acted outside of legal protocol and without due process.

Magudumana is currently facing multiple charges, including aiding and abetting an escape, fraud, and violating prison and security protocols related to Bester’s escape.

The case against Bester and his co-accused has been postponed to July for the start of the trial hearing.

This after the matter was postponed due to two matters that were still outstanding in the case.

 "The matter was postponed to 21 July 2025 as there are still two matters that are still outstanding. The first is that of Magudumana's judgment, in the SCA, and the Thabo Bester in the High Court, where we still need to argue on his application. You remember he wants a laptop, certain food and clothes,”National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Mojafela Senokotsoane said at the time. 

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