Africa-Press – South-Africa. The Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) is launching an investigation into Dr Nandipha Magudumana – the lover of “Facebook rapist” and convicted murderer Thabo Bester.
HPCSA spokesperson Christopher Tsatsawane said they had noted numerous media reports regarding various allegations that had been levelled against Magudumana.
As a result, Tsatsawane said, the council would investigate to see if she had behaved unprofessionally.
He said the HPCSA would work with the police, departments of health, home affairs and correctional services “to ensure the investigation process is comprehensive”.
“Doctors sign a code of conduct and code of practice. We will look at all her actions to determine if any professional conduct was breached in light of all allegations against her,” Tsatsawane said.
The HPCSA had previously said Magudumana had been suspended for “failure to pay annual fees when they were due on 1 April 2021.”
Speaking to News24 on Tuesday, Tsatsawane said the HPCSA had temporarily suspended Magudumana’s registrations and offered her an opportunity to pay.
Meanwhile, celebrity doctor, Mmereka Ntshani, better known as Dr Pashy, is seeking legal advice on allegations that Magudumana assumed her identity while on the run with Bester.
The two fugitives were arrested in Tanzania on Friday.
A Mozambican national who was with them was also arrested. Allegations are that he had been helping the wanted couple.
Bester became widely known as the “Facebook rapist” after it emerged that he used the social media platform to lure attractive young women with promises to help them advance their modelling and entertainment careers. Instead, he raped, assaulted and robbed them.
Bester pleaded guilty to two charges of rape and one of murder in trials in 2011 and 2012 and was handed an effective life sentence.
Bester and Magudumana had been on the run since the news of his prison escape was revealed by news publication GroundUp last month.
It was initially believed that Bester had died during a fire at the Mangaung maximum-security prison in May 2022.
Magudumana, as Bester’s “customary wife”, claimed the charred remains.
However, the State has since confirmed that the body that Magudumana collected was not that of Bester.
Magudumana’s father, Zolile Sekeleni, and former G4S staffer, Senohe Matsoara, appeared in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday in connection with Bester’s escape.
They have also been charged with murder in connection with the death of the unidentified man found in Bester’s cell.
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