Magudumana tells bail application she was forced to leave SA
Dr Nandipha Magudumana has suggested she was kidnapped and forced to leave South Africa before she was arrested in Tanzania.
"I was defenceless, helpless and with no one to report to. I complied with his instructions and was taken out of the country against my will. At all material times, I had no control over the situation because I was scared of the threats,” she told the court on Tuesday.
"I did not voluntarily depart from the Republic of South Africa as I was threatened. I had no reason to leave the Republic of South Africa."
The Bloemfontein Magistrate's Court began hearing Magudumana's bail application on Tuesday.
She allegedly helped convicted rapist and killer Thabo Bester escape from a maximum security prison in the Free State.
The doctor is facing charges including fraud and violating a dead body
She and Bester were arrested in Arusha in April, several weeks after a photo taken of Bester inside a Sandton supermarket blew his cover.
Magudumana began sobbing in court today when her lawyer Frans Dlamini read her affidavit.
"I undertake to attend court faithfully on each and every occasion to which this case might be postponed. I have no intention the live the life of a fugitive, I will stand by my trial to it proceed against me.
"I am a well-known medical practitioner, and there is no possibility that I will even think of not standing my trial. Any objection to my release on bail could be accommodated by bail conditions."
She has asked for her bail to be set at R10 000.
The hearing is expected to continue on Wednesday.
