The saga around celebrity doctor Dr Nandipha Magudumana and her notorious Facebook rapist Thabo Bester partner has captured the attention of South Africans and the world.
In August, the handcuffed lovebirds, Magudumana and Bester, met in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court for the first time since their arrest four months ago.
Media cameras captured the shackled Magudumana looking rather smitten as they smiled at each other and chatted in the court dock.
The couple were seated next to each other and were in their own world as they exchanged smiles and lingering looks and were even seen holding hands.
Now to an outsider looking in, the couple looked like reunited lovers but body language expert and human behavioural analyst Tania Steyn begs to differ.
Speaking on Newzroom Afrika, Steyn in her analysis said that Magudumana did not resemble a person in love with Bester when they appeared in court.
“That day was particularly interesting for me because I saw extreme anxiety in her. There’s a lot of stress she was exhibiting and she was fearful.
“It looked fearful to me and from what I could see with what she was doing with her body language before Thabo Bester arrived, she was extremely anxious.
“A lot of people say there is a lot of love between them, I’m sure there is some form of infatuation there but I don’t think love. I didn't see love, I didn't see love in their body language.”
Steyn further explained that when a person is in love, they would want to be as close as they can to their person, but Magudumana was moving away from Bester and getting closer to the other person seated next to her.
She also indicated that Magudumana’s smile during their first greeting was fake and she could see a lot of stress, as though something was coming, which subsequently was seen during her bail application where she turned on Bester and claimed he kidnapped her.
Magudumana claimed in her affidavit that her lover Bester kidnapped and threatened her, forcing her to flee with him before their capture in Tanzania.
While Steyn may be an expert in her field, ordinary social media users were not entirely convinced of her analysis of Magudumana’s body language.
@Qhu_di said “This expert is a scammer, she must explain to us what this is...👇🏾” referring to a picture of the couple looked smitten.
This expert is a scammer, she must explain to us what this is...👇🏾 pic.twitter.com/4xqccJsKqo
— Best Man I Can Be (@Qhu_di) September 12, 2023
@TheGeopol said: “This only means Nandipha Magudumana is even far more dangerous than we thought & extremely dishonest.
“If anything one can argue that Thabo Bester himself was a victim of Nandipha’s manipulative lure.”
This only means Nandipha Magudumana is even far more dangerous than we thought & extremely dishonest.
— 🎙Tebogo Koma🎙 (@TheGeopol) September 12, 2023
If anything one can argue that Thabo Bester himself was a victim of Nandipha’s manipulative lure. pic.twitter.com/4WEXTVS7Ux
Talk about being delulu 😭😭😭
— Marcia thejane (@tseepati) September 12, 2023
Where did this body expect graduate? pic.twitter.com/v6GZMYURnz
— ngyezwa ngyezwa (@ngyezwa) September 12, 2023