The Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) says the woman believed to be the partner of Facebook rapist, Thabo Bester, has been suspended from practicing as a doctor, if she is still practicing, it is a criminal offence.
In response to questions posed by News24 to the HPCSA, Nandipha Magudumana had been suspended “in terms of Section 19A (1)(b) of the Health Professions Act for the failure to pay annual fees when they were due on April 1st 2021.
As a result of the above, Magudumana appears to have been unable to legally practice medicine for nearly two years.
While stressing that the HPCSA could not take any action against Magudumana because she was no longer a registered doctor, the council said she could be prosecuted if it was found that she had been practicing as a doctor while not legally registered with the Council.
“This becomes a matter for the HPCSA inspectorate office to investigate further, in conjunction with law enforcement, to determine whether she is practising whilst not registered with council. As stipulated in the Health Professions Act, 56 of 1974, practising whilst not registered with [the] council is a criminal offence,” the HPSCA said.
On her Instagram page, Magudumana describes herself as a “medical doctor who offered aesthetic medical treatment at “Optimum Medical Aesthetic Solutions”.
Magudumana’s clinic was set to open on Wednesday but management representatives for the Morningside building say they haven’t seen her for weeks, and they can’t get hold of her on the phone.
A couple of clients and a group of journalists were the only people to rock up to the clinic on Wednesday, but Magudumana was nowhere to be seen.
Clients who had made appointments were confused by the clinic’s closure because they had spoken to a secretary for the clinic as recently as last week.
It was initially believed that Bester had died in a fire that broke out in his Mangaung Correctional Centre cell.
The body that was found in the cell is still unaccounted for.
