- Nandipha Magudumana’s appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal challenges the legality of her arrest in Tanzania, claiming South African officials acted unlawfully.
- Advocate Anton Katz argued that South African authorities, eager to bring Magudumana to trial, collaborated with Tanzanian officials for an improper arrest, allegedly violating extradition protocols.
- The State counters that Magudumana consented to return to South Africa and must demonstrate that her liberty was deprived by the repatriation process.
Nandipha Magudumana, the disgraced doctor and accused fraudster, will have to wait a bit longer for the outcome of her appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal, where her legal team argued this week that her arrest in Tanzania was illegal. Magudumana, apprehended in April last year alongside her alleged accomplice Thabo Bester, is accused of assisting the convicted murderer in escaping from the Mangaung Correctional Centre, where he was serving a life sentence.
The pair, along with seven others—including Magudumana’s father—are currently on trial at the Bloemfontein High Court for their roles in Bester’s elaborate escape. Magudumana’s lawyer, Advocate Anton Katz, argued that South African officials were so determined to bring her to trial that they unlawfully collaborated with Tanzanian authorities to carry out her arrest. Katz claims Magudumana’s rights under the Southern African Development Community extradition agreement were disregarded, as they were not read to her before her extradition.
The State, however, contends that Magudumana willingly consented to return to South Africa, a stance previously upheld by the high court in her initial appeal. According to the State’s lawyers, she must provide proof that her return deprived her of her liberty in an unlawful manner.
Further, Katz questioned the presence of South African police officers in Tanzania during the arrest, arguing they acted beyond their jurisdiction. The State clarified that the officers were in Tanzania to capture Bester, who had allegedly escaped South African custody, not to arrest Magudumana. The decision of the Supreme Court of Appeal on Magudumana’s appeal will determine if she continues to face trial in South Africa.
