It was another legal setback for Nandipha Magudumana on Tuesday when she failed to convince a judge that she should be granted bail.
Magudamana had approached the Bloemfontein High Court in an appeal against a ruling in September this year against a decision by Magistrate Estelle de Lange to deny her bail.
On Tuesday, Acting High Court Judge Melissa Jordaan said she could not fault De Lange’s ruling or her reasoning. She dismissed the appeal, meaning Magudumana will remain behind bars.
In her ruling, De Lange had said Magudmana was a flight risk and seemed capable of crossing borders without passports.
Magudumana faces several charges, including fraud, corruption, violating bodies and assisting an escape.
She was arrested in Tanzania in April 2023 with escaped convict and “Facebook rapist” Thabo Bester. She has been detained in Kroonstad prison since then.
