Nandipha Magudumana continues to wear her wedding ring, despite fuelling rumours of a love connection with her co-accused, Thabo Bester, just weeks earlier.
The former celebrity skin doctor appeared in the Free State High Court relating to charges of aiding Bester’s 2022 prison escape, defeating the ends of justice, and violating bodies.
The mother-of-two is married to fellow doctor Mkhuseli Magudumana, the father of her two children.
NANDIPHA MAGUDUMANA WEARS HER WEDDING RING
On Friday, 5 December, Nandipha Magudumana made a solo court appearance at the Free State High Court after arriving late. She is expected back in court for a pre-trial hearing on 18 March 2026.
The stylish former skin doctor wore a black suit, with her hair in a trendy new braided hairstyle. In addition to a gold necklace sporting a large cross, Nandipha also wore her wedding ring.
This comes weeks after she appeared to “flirt” with her rumoured romantic partner, Thabo Bester, in court. Bester is a convicted rapist, murderer, and fraudster.
Nandipha is legally married to Mkhuseli Magudumana, a pediatrician .They have two children together.
According to court papers, Nandipha and her estranged husband are now separated.
Surprisingly, the former hotshot businesswoman last saw her kids in 2023, when she was accused of “abandoning” them for Bester. Neither her children nor her husband have had contact with her since her arrest, her family confirmed in the recent Netflix docuseries, Beauty and the Bester.
Images via X:
@sli_masikane
‘I DON’T KNOW HER’
In Netflix’s Beauty and the Bester, Nandipha’s brother Nkosinathi Sekeleni confirmed that her husband, Mkhuseli Magudumana, has distanced himself from his former spouse following her criminal spree.
In one episode, Nkosinathi said, “I called her 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”.
Images via X
In Beauty and the Bester, a voice recording by Thabo Bester suggested he reached out to Nandipha – whom he had allegedly met years before – to rekindle their relationship in 2017. At the time, he was serving time for rape and murder at the Mangaung Correctional Centre.
