Dr Nandipha Magudumana has pinned her bid for freedom on renowned legal eagle, Advocate Anton Katz SC.

Katz has worked on a number of high profile cases including the Gupta extradition, the matter between former president Jacob Zuma, Schabir Shaik and Thales SA as well as Sekunjalo Investment Holdings in their fight against the Public Investment Corporation.

Katz specialises in international law and has acted as a consultant to the United Nations and the African Union on extradition and terrorism-related matters, respectively.

According to the Cape Bar, Katz has also worked on high-profile cases in Namibia, Swaziland and Botswana.

Magudumana last week filed an urgent application to have her arrest and deportation to SA declared illegal.

She claimed that she was handcuffed and blindfolded, allegations which the State, police and the Department of Home Affairs have vehemently denied.

Magudumana contends that her arrest in Tanzania was unlawful and contends that she was not deported from the country, but she was, in fact, extradited.

Magudumana was arrested alongside her fugitive boyfriend, Facebook rapist Thabo Bester, while heading towards the border of Kenya on April 7.

She is facing 12 charges linked to Bester’s escape from the G4S-run Mangaung Correctional Facility in the Free State.

In court on Thursday, Katz argued the merits of Magudumana’s “disguised extradition", adding that it was unlike he had ever seen.

The State has, meanwhile, said Magudumana’s claims were unfounded.

Representing the State, Advocate Neil Snellenburg, SC, questioned the timing of Magudumana’s application, adding that her founding statement was “utterly untruthful”.