Magudumana appeared in court Monday after the runaway couple was arrested while trying to flee in Tanzania - the culmination of a dragnet that has dominated the headlines.
Ensconced in a light-blue hoodie and a face mask, the 34-year-old revealed her face only when ordered to by a judge as her lawyers made a bail request.
She was then remanded into custody as the hearing was adjourned, shuffling in chains around her ankles above peach-colored Nike sneakers.
Her appearance was the latest chapter in a saga that has gripped the country since police admitted nearly a year ago that Magudumana's alleged lover, Thabo Bester, had broken out of prison.
Authorities had believed that Bester, dubbed the "Facebook Rapist," had set himself alight in his cell at a privately-run prison in Bloemfontein in May 2022.
But in March, police said DNA tests proved that Bester had faked his death to make a spectacular jailbreak that has triggered a parliamentary inquiry and accusations of lax controls and complicity.
For years, Magudumana, the mother of two ran a tony clinic specializing in skin care and other cosmetic treatments in Johannesburg's upmarket neighborhood of Sandton.
But after meeting Bester - details of how they came into contact remain obscure -- Magudumana allegedly left her children behind to help his escape.
Some reports have since claimed that even before his escape, Bester would sneak out of prison and meet with Magudumana at a five-star hotel for romantic escapades.
Before fleeing abroad, the couple is thought to have lived in a villa in an affluent Johannesburg suburb that police raided earlier this month, with some media photos allegedly showing him buying groceries.
She now faces charges of assisting an inmate to escape, harboring a prisoner, violation of a corpse and fraud.
She will enter a plea once the trial begins, though no date has yet been set. She is due to appear in court again on May 3 for the decision on her request for bail.
