Bloemfontein – The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has expressed unwavering confidence in its ability to successfully dismiss Dr Nandipha Magudumana’s appeal against her deportation from Tanzania.
Magudumana appeared before the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein yesterday to challenge what her legal team terms a “disguised” extradition. The NPA, however, maintains that the deportation process was entirely legitimate.
The case hinges on the events surrounding Magudumana’s return to South Africa in March of last year. She is Thabo Bester's girlfriend and is reportedly a married woman too. Her lawyers argue that her repatriation from Tanzania constituted an illegal extradition, citing the significant police presence at Lanseria Airport upon her arrival. They claim this heavy police presence indicates a level of South African involvement in the deportation process that renders it unlawful.
However, the NPA’s Mthunzi Mhaga strongly refutes these claims. He asserts that the deportation process was above board, fully compliant with international law, and that Magudumana consented to her return. The Free State High Court's June ruling supported this assertion, finding that Magudumana willingly returned to South Africa, expressing a desire to see her children.
Mhaga highlighted the key element distinguishing deportation from extradition: “Deportation is a unilateral process initiated by the deporting country,” he explained. This means that the deporting nation (in this case, Tanzania) acts independently, without direct involvement or request from the receiving country (South Africa). The presence of South African police at the airport, according to Mhaga, was merely for the purpose of escorting Magudumana, not for active participation in the deportation itself.
“You could hear our argument, which we meticulously presented here, that the result is obvious: their appeal will be dismissed,” Mhaga stated confidently following the court proceedings. He further dismissed the defence's argument that the deportation was a disguised extradition, emphasising the lack of demonstrable South African police involvement beyond the escorting of Magudumana. “Nothing turned out on that issue because the judges asked what role the police played and they couldn't demonstrate that they played any significant role. As a result, their role there was merely to escort, and therefore there was no role that the SAPS played,” Mhaga clarified.
The NPA’s stance is firm: they believe the appeal is without merit. Mhaga’s confidence extends even to the possibility of further legal challenges: “The state maintains that even if they can take this matter to Braamfontein in the Constitutional Court, it will still be dismissed,” he declared.
