Nandipha Magudumana’s lawyer says she was forced out of SA by Bester

Dr Nandipha Magudumana has told the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court that she will plead not guilty to all the charges she is facing.

In her affidavit she says she is still challenging her arrest in Tanzania. Magudumana, through her lawyer, says she did not leave the country voluntarily. She says she was threatened and intimidated by accused 5, Thabo Bester. Magumana says she is willing to pay an amount of R10 000 for bail.

She told the court that she will be staying with a friend and intended to abide by the court instructions if released. She says she does not have identities of the state’s witnesses and will not interfere with the case. Magudumana is applying for bail in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court.

Her lawyer Frans Dlamini, ” On and about 17 March 2023 I was in the company of accused number 5, I was instructed and commanded by the accused to get into the vehicle to leave to the destination unknown to me at that time. I was defenseless and hopeless.

Dlamini argued that she complied with authorities because of threats made by Bester. She is accused of aiding and abetting a convicted prisoner. Bester escaped from the Mangaung Correctional Centre in May last year.