The magistrate ruled that in regards to media coverage, Rungo’s face cannot be shown at all in the media, and neither the faces of the court bench. Picture: Theolin Tembo
Magistrate Sadiqah Guendouz chastised the State for presenting a "half-baked" docket in the matter of Anabela Rungo, mother of former Miss South Africa contestant, Chidimma Adetshina.
Rungo was arrested on Saturday by investigators from the Department of Home Affairs, assisted by the South African Police Service (SAPS).
The department withdrew Rungo’s South African documentation in September 2024 after finding that it had been fraudulently obtained, rendering her ineligible to continue residing in South Africa.
The department said on Saturday that in an "apparent act of brazen disregard for the legal consequences of her conduct, it appears that Ms Rungo has defied her 'undesirable' status through her Mozambican passport".
Rungo appeared late on Monday in the Cape Town Magistrates Court where the charge sheet shows she is being charged with two charges relating to contravening the Immigration Act, and a charge for contravening the Identification Act.
Guendouz, however, took issue on Monday with the lack of information in the docket when tackling the matter of why Rungo should remain in custody.
Guendouz told the State that they knew before her arrest on Saturday that there would be public interest in the case, and questioned why the necessary information was not in her docket - such as when she travelled across the border, from where, and how.
The matter of Rungo's passports also came up in court with the State claiming that she has three different passports, which she used to travel to China and Mozambique, but this was disputed by the defence attorney, Ben Mathewson, who said that his client had handed over her passports to the immigration official from Home Affairs.
Prior to the matter being heard, Guendouz also made a ruling in regards to media coverage that Rungo’s face not be shown at all in the media, and neither the faces of the court bench.
The case concluded for the day with Guendouz keeping Rungo in custody where she will again appear on Tuesday to allow for consultations with her attorney, and the matter of bail information is tentatively set for Thursday.
Early on Monday morning, the Western Cape Department of Social Development also issued a statement reminding the public that Child Protection is one of its primary responsibilities.
Their statement came in light of a minor being removed from Rungo’s care after she was detained.
The department said: “We cannot divulge any details about the matter, for the safety and wellbeing of the minor. We also ask the media to respect this and not reveal any further identifiers related to the child in their respective publications.”
When it comes to child protection in general, if a child is at risk of abuse or neglect or other harm, the Department steps in to intervene and assists that child.
Depending on the outcome of their assessment, a social worker may perform an emergency removal and place the child in alternative care such as with a safety parent or in a Child and Youth Care Centre. This will be ratified by a magistrate in the Children’s Court within 48 hours.
Social Development MEC Jaco Londt said: “Social workers from the Department and DCPOs work extremely hard to safeguard children, but we need communities to work with us as well.”
theolin.tembo@inl.co.za
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