Africa-Press – South-Africa. Home Affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi has insisted that Dr Nandipha Magudumana, accused of helping convicted rapist and killer Thabo Bester escape from prison, was lawfully deported from Tanzania in April.
This comes after Magudumana’s legal team filed papers in the Free State High Court in Bloemfontein on Friday demanding her release from detention immediately and for a judge to declare all the orders and warrants against her null and void.
Speaking during a media briefing on Monday, Motsoaledi said the director-general only managed to access the court papers late on Sunday afternoon.
“He [director-general] was shocked to discover that the Department of Home Affairs and I were not cited as respondents in that matter.
“The director-general immediately addressed a letter dated 21 May 2023 to her attorneys raising objection to the non-joinder of the DHA (Department of Home Affairs) and I demanded that the ill-advised application be removed from the urgent roll,” he said.
He said Magudumana and Bester were declared prohibited immigrants in terms of the immigration laws of Tanzania and were therefore liable to be deported back to their country of origin as a matter of law.
He said that Tanzanian authorities declared Bester and Magudumana undesirable persons and ordered that they leave the country within three days.
He said the Tanzanians did not want to hand them over to police, as this would amount to a rendition.
Motsoaledi confirmed that Home Affairs officials were part of the delegation that went to Tanzania to bring Bester and Magudumana back to South Africa.
He maintained that that there was nothing illegal about the process, adding that there was “something sinister” about the fact that Magudumana did not cite the department in her urgent legal challenge to her “unlawful abduction”.
“The same procedure was followed in respect of the Mozambican national who was in their company.”
Motsoaledi said the department had also obtained legal advice to revoke Magudumana’s passport and that “firm action must be taken to that effect”.
Magudumana’s passport was issued on 16 February 2017 and was due to expire on 15 February 2027.
“I am outlining all these steps because the matters in question are of immense public interest and the DHA has a constitutional duty to adhere to the principles of accountability and transparency,” he said.
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