News24.com | Celebrities distance themselves from Dr Nandipha Magudumana as plot thickens in Thabo Bester prison escape

Dr Nandipha during the Miss South Africa 2019 beauty pageant grand finale at the Time Square Sun Arena.

• Local celebrities are distancing themselves from Dr Nandipha Magudumana as the case of her partner Thabo Bester's escape from prison gets more complicated.
• One of them is Dr Mmereka Patience Martha Ntshani, better known as Dr Pashy.
  
• According to reports, Magudumana was travelling under Dr Pashy's name when she and Bester were arrested in Tanzania last week.

As the plot continues to thicken in Thabo Bester's prison escape, with the alleged assistance of his partner, Nandipha Magudumana, local celebrities have distanced themselves from the medical doctor and socialite.

One such celebrity was socialite and medical doctor Dr Mmereka Patience Martha Ntshani, better known as Dr Pashy. According to reports, Magudumana was travelling under Dr Pashy's name when she and Bester were arrested in Tanzania last week.

"We have learnt with great concern through various media outlets of the potential stolen identity of our founder, Dr Mmereka Patience Martha Ntshani, by Dr Nandipha Magudumana. Dr Nthsani is seeking legal advice, and to the extent that these reports are true, the matter will be dealt with legally," a statement by Dr Pashy's foundation read.

According to the statement, the Dr Pashy Foundation, Power Women Group and International Power Women Foundation (the organisation) hosted a women's seminar with Magudumana as a guest speaker in 2020. The Dr Pashy Foundation then reportedly entered into a public relations management agreement with a company owned by Magudumana, Vibes Africa Incorporation International.

"The organisation and Dr Ntshani were not aware of the allegations that have been reported in the media," the statement continued. "Neither the organisation nor Dr Ntshani in her personal capacity have received funding from Dr Nandipha Magudumana or indirectly from [any] organisation affiliated with her."

Since then, social media sleuths discovered that multiple public figures and businesses had deleted their interactions with Magudumana.

On Monday, News24 reported Magudumana's father, Zolile Sekeleni and former G4S employee, Senohe Matsoara, were arrested in connection with Bester's escape. The two, accused of aiding and abetting, appeared in court on Tuesday, and the case was postponed until Monday, 17 April.

News of Bester's escape from the privately managed maximum-security prison broke last month when GroupUp reported he escaped from the facility in May 2022 in a ploy which involved his prison cell being engulfed in flames. Bester and Magudumana fled the country after the news broke but were arrested, along with a Mozambican national who allegedly assisted them in the getaway in Arusha, Tanzania, last week.

ALSO READ | How Thabo Bester and Nandipha Magudumana were arrested in Tanzania