Details of socialite arrested alongside rapist fiancé while fleeing to Kenya
Dr Nandipha Magudumana, a 34-year-old South African socialite and medical doctor, was known for her lavish lifestyle and business ventures.
She was the girlfriend of Mr Thabo Bester, a convicted rapist who used Facebook to lure women into his trap.
The couple had been on the run since March 2023, after it was discovered that Bester had staged a prison break and convinced authorities that he had died in his cell.
Over the weekend, the pair was arrested while attempting to enter Kenya from Tanzania with fake documentation.
While it is unknown where they were headed, South African authorities confirmed they were using false identities to gain access to the country.
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Dr Magudumana intended to use the name Ms Martha Patience Mmerika Nitshini, while Bester had several aliases.
After news of Bester’s escape surfaced, the doctor closed down her business, Optimum Medical Solutions.
However, she posted on social media that she would resume appointments in two days, which never happened.
“All bookings with Dr Nandipha at Optimum Medical Aesthetic will resume on Wednesday the 29th at 09:00,” she posted on her social media sites.
Dr Magudumana was once featured in the Mail and Guardian’s “200 Young South Africans,” SADC’s “Top 100 Young Leaders of 2018,” and the “Top 20 Most Influential Young South Africans 2018.”
Her Instagram account displayed images of her luxurious lifestyle and a posh house she shared with Bester until his escape was exposed.
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The couple vacated the plush Hyde Park property in mid-March 2023 after a South African publication lifted the lid on Bester’s escape from the Mangaung Correctional Centre in Bloemfontein on May 3, 2022.
“On April 6, 2023, police and forensic investigators entered the palatial home in Hyde Park in the afternoon and left well into the night,” South African publication News24 reported, adding that the team was looking for evidence, such as fingerprints, to prove Mr Bester is alive.
Dr Magudumana had bought a luxury car at a Hire Purchase Price (HPP) plan but could not fully pay the Sh9 million after paying a deposit of Sh5 million.
Leading her to abandon it in Zimbabwe and cross back into South Africa on foot, this happened in January 2023.
She is also facing charges for picking up bodies from the mortuary and claiming insurance for them.
The couple’s attempt to enter Kenya with fake IDs was unsuccessful, and they were apprehended. Dr Magudumana’s once-enviable lifestyle has now turned into a criminal investigation.
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