NPA to oppose Magudumana's latest bid over her deportation
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) says it will oppose disgraced celebrity doctor Nandipha Magudumana's latest court bid to challenge her deportation from Tanzania.
On 16 May, the Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed Magudumana's application to declare her deportation from Tanzania unlawful.
Magudumana was arrested with her lover and convicted criminal Thabo Bester in Arusha, Tanzania, in April 2023 after fleeing South Africa.
The South African previously reported that in June 2023, Bloemfontein High Court Judge Phillip Loubser dismissed Magudumana's application for her arrest and deportation from Tanzania in April 2023 to be declared unlawful and set aside.
Loubser dismissed her application with costs, saying he is not convinced that the case has a prospect of success and that a different court might come to a different conclusion.
Magudumana had alleged South African police in Tanzania abducted her and contended that since her arrest was unlawful, the criminal proceedings against her in the Bester escape case were null and void, and she should be released from the Bizzah Makhate Correctional Centre in Kroonstad where she is held.
On Friday, 16 May, Supreme Court Justice Tati Makgoka said the matter is dismissed with costs.
NPA national spokesperson advocate Mthunzi Mhaga told the SABC that they still have to meet with their legal team and confirmed that they will file an opposition within 10 days.
'We take the view firmly so that the process of deporting Dr Nandipha Magudumana from Tanzania in April 2023 to South Africa was a seamless and above board process. There's no untoward conduct on the part of the team that escorted her. We are very much aware that there was a minority judgement that ruled in her favour, however, the majority judgement is in our favour,' Mhaga said.
Magudumana's lawyer, Machini Motloung, also told the SABC that they are confident regarding their latest legal challenge, as they are of the firm view that there are prospects of success in their application for leave to appeal the SCA ruling.
Motloung said that another court, in this case, the Constitutional Court, may as well arrive at a different conclusion.
'We will remain confident on the merits of our case,' he said.
Regarding his client. Motloung said she remains resolute and confident in the justice system as they are following due processes.
'As I always say, she might be dismayed but not despondent. She's prepared and ready to see that justice ultimately gets done in the case. She firmly believes that there was unlawfulness in the manner in which she was handed over to the South African authorities, and hence she's pursuing this route,' he added.
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