Nandipha Magudumana’s husband, Mkhuseli Magudumana, has completely distanced himself from his wife, who is accused of conspiring with convicted criminal Thabo Bester.
His statement was made in the Netflix documentary Beauty and the Bester, which was released last Friday.
Nandipha and Bester are currently facing charges of orchestrating his 2022 prison escape, defrauding the public, and violating multiple bodies.
Their trial is set to begin on 10 November at the Bloemfontein High Court.
NANDIPHA MAGUDUMANA’S HUSBAND SPEAKS
In the Netflix documentary, Nandipha Magudumana’s brother, Nkosinathi Sekeleni, hinted at his sister’s fraught relationship with her husband, Mkhuseli Magudumana.
Despite being a legally married woman, the celebrity aesthetics doctor allegedly embarked on an affair with Thabo Bester while he was behind bars for a rape and murder conviction in 2012. She claimed in official documents that Bester was her “customary husband”.
Nandipha and Mkhuseli Magudumana – also a doctor – married in 2013 in a grand ceremony. They have two children whom Nandipha last saw in 2023 when she dropped them off at school and failed to pick them up. At the time, Nandipha fled the country with Bester, where they were later apprehended in Tanzania.
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@drnandi/ Showmax
In the docuseries, Nkosinathi said, “I called Nandipha’s husband and asked, How are you doing, how are the kids doing? How do you feel?”
“He said he doesn’t know this Nandipha. This is not the Nandipha he married, who is the mother of his kids. Something that he can’t explain got hold of Nandipha.
“All he wishes is for the law to take its course. And at least tell his kids ‘Mommy has got questions to answer”.
In Nandipha’s 2024 bail application, she revealed that she is currently separated from her husband.
HOW DID SHE MEET THABO BESTER?
In a sworn statement, Nandipha Magudumana claimed that she met Thabo Bester at Wits University in 2006, where he allegedly studied theology. Official reports have revealed that Bester only has a grade 7 education.
Nandipha claims Bester transferred to Cape Town.
In Beauty and the Bester, a voice recording by Thabo Bester suggested he reached out to Nandipha to rekindle their relationship in 2017. At the time, he was serving time for rape and murder at the Mangaung Correctional Centre..
Bester claims he was “framed” after a business deal with high-ranking officials went south. The convicted fraudster allegedly preyed on the sympathy of Nandipha Magudumana, and their alleged romance ensued. The married mother of two would frequently visit the convicted criminal.
According to reports, Bester proposed to Nandipha in 2020. Two years later, they allegedly hatched an elaborate plan to help Bester escape from prison. Nandipha later hid Bester in her Hyde Park mansion until early 2023, when their relationship made headlines.
