The family of Katlego Bereng believes the Free State High Court’s dismissal on Dr Nandipha Magudumana’s urgent application to have her arrest in Tanzania illegal, proves that justice will prevail.
Katlego’s charred body was used as a decoy in the escape plot of convicted murderer and rapist Thabo Bester from the Mangaung Correctional Center.
Court dismisses Dr Nandipha Magudumana’s application with costs:
Questions around how his body ended up in Bester’s jail cell remain a mystery. A postmortem report stated that he died from blunt force trauma to the head and not from the fire in Bester’s staged suicide.
Bereng’s aunt, Poppie Bereng explains: “On behalf of the Bereng family, we are very happy, very satisfied with the outcome or the judgment of today and not surprised though. Because from the onset, the way SAPS and NPA, have been handling the matter, it’s beginning to show that justice is prevailing. We think we will get justice at the end of the day.”
Hand-over process
Magudumana approached the Free State High Court following her decision to suspend her bail application in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court. She is among the seven people arrested for aiding and abetting Bester to escape from prison.
The high court’s Judge Philip Loubster also noted in during court proceedings that Magudumana did not resist during the handing-over process, as she stated that she wanted to return to South Africa to her children.
Loubster contended that Magudumana willingly participated in the handing over process and if she has any issues, regarding that, she would have to take it up with the Tanzanian government.
“The application cannot succeed. I make the following order, the application is dismissed with costs, it including the costs with two councils, where so employed, by respectively. the first and third respondents and the sixth respondents.”
Magudumana’s legal representative Machini Motloung had this to say.
“We’re going to be studying the judgment properly to have an understanding, where you know if there are any issues, then perhaps we can take up. But where we are now, we’re going to be taking instructions from our client and we will also arrange an urgent meeting with the legal team, just to ventilate on a merit of issues, coming from this judgment. So that it could be more of being an exercise, so that we’re able to know if we can take the matter further.”
Magudumana needs to go back to the Bloemfontein Magistrate Court and entertain her bail application that she suspended last month. This is according to legal expert, Dikeledi Moeti. Moeti however believes Magudumana does not have enough grounds to challenge the court’s verdict.
NPA reacts to the court declaring Magudumana’s return to SA from Tanzania an extradition:
