Thabo Bester appears in court virtually in designer gear, his lawyers withdraw from case

The case against eight suspects arrested in connection with the escape of convicted rapist and murderer Thabo Bester has been postponed to August.

Court appearance

Bester, his alleged girlfriend and accomplice Dr Nandipha Magudumana, and seven other suspects appeared in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.

Bester appeared in court via video link from the Kgosi Mampuru II Correctional Centre in Tshwane, wearing a Louis Vuitton designer sweater.

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During Tuesday’s court appearance, Bester’s lawyers, Advocate Jeremiah Pela and instructing attorney Tsireledzo Ndou withdrew from the case.

This follows reports last week that Ndou faces attempted rape and assault charges. Ndou, 27, is out on R1 000 bail and is expected in court on Wednesday.

A new lawyer, Kabelo Matee, has been placed on record to represent Bester.

Co-accused

Bester’s co-accused appeared in court in person. The suspects are facing charges of assisting Bester, who is dubbed the “Facebook rapist”, to escape from the Mangaung Correctional Centre in May last year after he faked his death.

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The suspects include Magudumana’s father, Zolile Cornelius Sekeleni, former G4S employees Senohe Matsoara, Buti (Motenyane John) Masukela, Tieho Frans Makhotsa and Nastassja Jansen, and Integriton CCTV technician Teboho James Lipholo.

Sekeleni and Jansen are both out on R10 000 bail each, while the other co-accused remain in custody.

The ninth suspect arrested in relation to Bester’s escape, Zanda Moyo, also appeared in court on Tuesday.

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Moyo, a Zimbabwean national, was arrested in Johannesburg last week after an undercover police operation.

He is alleged to have been with Magudumana when they claimed the body of Katlego Bereng from a Free State mortuary last year.

Bereng’s body was used as a decoy by Bester when he allegedly set it alight in his cell at the G4S-run Mangaung Correctional Centre before his escape on 3 May 2022.

Bereng disappeared days before Bester escaped from prison. His family learned of his death in April, after DNA samples were taken from his mother. He was buried last month.

Magistrate Motlholo Khabisi postponed the case to 8 August 2023 for further investigation.

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