Thabo Bester’s girlfriend, Dr Nandipha Magudumana made a brief appearance in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court, Thursday afternoon, 13 April.

Bester is now being monitored, around the clock, in a maximum-security section of Kgosi Mampuru II Prison in Pretoria. Bester is notorious for the murder of his girlfriend in Cape Town. And is responsible for the rape and robbery of women in Durban. He is called the Facebook rapist for his modus operandi of approaching women through the social media platform.

READ MORE: Thabo Bester: ministers and officials scramble to answer MPs’ questions

But who is Dr Nandipha Magudumana? Benito Vergotine spoke with Dr Saths Cooper, a Clinical Psychologist and the President at Pan-African Psychology Union (PAPU) about the mental state of the Bonnie-personified Nandipha.

Nandipha Magudumana: victim or mastermind?

Dr Cooper says that often use a person’s look to determine if they are capable of committing an action or crime. We should not be fooled by Magudumana’s attractiveness, thinking she was not actively involved in crime with Bester, says Dr Cooper. He makes the following hypothesis about Magudumana’s personality:

• Her behaviour speaks otherwise from her ‘innocent’ appearance
• She has been involved in ‘risky behaviour’ for a very long time
• She appears to be someone without empathy or remorse, nor have the ability to care for the people she conned
• Presents signs of psychological issues
• Displays signs of sociopathy

Romance mixed with Crime

Notorious killer couple, Bonnie and Clyde are cemented in history with their numerous robberies, automobile thefts and murders. Thabo Bester and Nandipha Magudumana, says Benito, resemble a modern-day version of the historic criminals.

Magudumana seems to fit hand-in-glove with Thabo Bester says Dr Cooper. He adds that she does not behave as someone who was abused or manipulated. Magudumana even went so far as to throw her Hippocratic oath aside for Thabo Bester. Additionally, she allegedly stole three unidentified bodies from Free State mortuaries week before her lover escaped prison. Ultimately assisting Thabo fake his ‘death’.

READ MORE: GROUNDUP: Government knew Thabo Bester had escaped, but did nothing

Dr Cooper predicts that, in the coming weeks, Magudumana might act like this in court:

• She will cave under the pressure of the prosecution and offer all she knows

or

• She will tell the prosecution to ‘go to hell’

Cooper also wonders which of the two will rat each other out first – or if their bond as a couple will hold back damning facts.

Psycho parents on the loose

Dr Cooper points out to Benito, the fact that Magudumana allowed Thabo Bester (a convicted rapist) to live with her and her daughters, “It’s chilling how a mother can do that to chilren – especially little girls,” he says.

He hopes the children are receiving the help and love they need to overcome living with the pair, “In this case, subjecting her little girl children to this kind of monster is outrageous,” says Cooper. This all speaks to the lengths the couple was prepared to take in order to get what they wanted says Dr Cooper.

Is Magudumana a sociopath or psychopath?

Sociopathy and Psychopathy have similar traits and tendencies says Dr Cooper. According to PsychCentral sociopathic behaviors may be more erratic and more likely to get angry. This can cause them ‘to have disruptions to their daily lives’. Psychopathic behaviors are often ‘otherwise appear typical’ except the person might ‘use charm and charisma’ to manipulate people.

Dr Cooper tells Benito that both Magudumana and Bester display sociopathic behaviors. They both have the ability to turn on the charm and use their ‘good looks’ for evil. And they seemingly act without guilt or responsibility for their actions adds Cooper.

READ MORE: Thabo Bester prison break: two men in court, charged with murder

Ending off the interview on The Honest Truth, Dr Cooper says the case of Dr Nandipha Magudumana shows how future doctors and healthcare providers be psychologically evaluated. He says it is ‘imperative’ that this is considered. Doctors need to put their own needs aside to ‘”relief them (patients) of whatever burdens they are carrying”, says Dr Cooper.

In one in two cases, says Dr Cooper, patients’ problems have an underlying psychological or environmental basis. Thus, it is important that doctors have the ability to delve into their patients minds and treat them ethically and with compassion.