The Department of Correctional Services is investigating the alleged assault on Nandipha Magudumana while in custody.
“Reports of an alleged altercation and a push against the grills can be confirmed,” said Singabakho Nxumalo, a department official.
Magudumana, who is presently jailed at the Kroonstad Correctional Centre in the Free State, was beaten by two convicts on Sunday, according to her lawyer, Machini Motloung, resulting in “serious bruising, pain, and suffering”.
However, Nxumalo stated that health officials who examined her found no visible injuries.
According to Motloung, the alleged attacker was a sangoma who had been inciting division against Magudumana “because of her incessant praying and singing with other inmates”.
He said that jail officials failed to stop the incident when Magudumana reported the threats against her.
“Her complaint on various challenges she is incessantly experiencing in the correctional facility has landed on [deaf] ears as the prison authorities have done little, if not nothing, to attend to a myriad of complaints from her.”
Nxumalo said department officials recommended Magudumana to file a criminal case after she reported being assaulted, but she chose to consult with her lawyers first.
“The safety and well-being of convicts is our first priority, and we take such complaints very seriously. As a result, this occurrence is currently being investigated,” he stated.
According to Motloung, Magudumana filed a case of assault with the aim to cause severe bodily harm against her accused attackers.
Police have yet to corroborate this.
“… we will be engaging with the department and the ministry of justice concerning her safety in prison as an awaiting trial inmate,” Motloung stated in a press release.
Magudumana and Bester made headlines after GroundUp revealed how the married cosmetic doctor and influencer allegedly assisted her convict partner in faking his own death and escaping from the maximum-security Mangaung Correctional Centre.
The State claims that Magudumana even obtained bodies to aid Bester’s escape plan and went to court in an urgent but unsuccessful attempt to guarantee that the true identity of the body set on fire in her lover’s cell was never found.
The couple is accused of committing various schemes following Bester’s May 2022 escape, which funded their lavish lifestyle in Sandton.
After their escape plan was uncovered, they escaped to Tanzania and were apprehended by local authorities.
