The defence attorneys for Dr Nandipha Magudumana will on Tuesday (29/8) try to convince the Bloemfontein Magistrate that her constitutional rights outweigh the interest of justice.

Dr Magudumana has been in custody for almost four months after she was arrested by the Free State Serious Organised Crime on 13 April 2023.

She has since exercised her right to apply for bail after she previously reserved it. She instead took the matter of her arrest in Tanzania to the Free State High Court where her bid failed twice. Her bail application is set for two days.

Legal expert in criminal matters Thabo Molete from Molete Attorneys said, given all that has happened in the case with Magudumana, her argument is likely to convince the magistrate to grant her bail. Molete said her right to freedom outweighs the interest of justice.

"We are of the view that the state is going to oppose bail. The state will be relying on provision 60(4) of the Criminal Procedure Act, wherein they will be saying that it's not in the best interest of justice that she be granted bail. They might say she is a flight risk and she is going to evade the trial and she is not suitable to be granted bail," Molete added.

People are gathering outside the Bloemfontein Magistrate's Court. Photo: Lucky Nkuyane

He said her legal representative might argue that she is a mother, a professional and she is suffering financial loss.

They might also argue that the case has been continuously delayed by further investigations by the police, which further jeopardises her right to freedom.

She is among 12 suspects arrested for aiding Bester to escape from the Mangaung Correctional Centre under the guard of the British company G4S in May 2022. Nine suspects, including accused 1, Senohe Matsoara, are out on R10 000 bail. It is only Magudumana, Bester, and an illegal immigrant from Zimbabwe Zando Moyo who remain in custody.

Free State prosecutor Sello Matlhoko will on Tuesday argue on behalf of the State against Dr Nandipha Magudumana during her bail application. Photo: Lucky Nkuyane

The suspects face charges ranging from aiding, abetting, defeating the ends of justice, violating a dead body, and fraud. Most of the suspects were arrested by the police’s provincial organised crime unit in June and July whilst more are former G4S security guards.

According to the police, accused 1, Matsoara; accused 3, Teboho James Lipholo; and accused 7, Tieho Frans Makhotsa, all received thousands of rands for aiding and abetting Bester to escape from G4S.

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