Dr Nandipha Magadumana and Thabo Bester were arrested in April, about 10km outside of Tanzania’s capital city, Arusha, after fleeing from the hotel they were staying in. Picture: Screengrab
Facebook rapist and convicted killer Thabo Bester and Nandipha Magudumana are expected back in the Free State High Court on Wednesday to provide an update on his legal representation.
Bester, Magudumana, her father Zolile Cornelius Sekeleni and seven others are being tried for a daring escape at the Mangaung Correctional Centre over two years go.
During his last court appearance, Bester went on a rant while addressing Free State Judge President Cagney Musi about his living conditions at the Kgosi Mampuru C-Max prison, where he is being held under heavy guard.
Bester represented himself after his latest legal representatives recused themselves from the trial, allegedly over unpaid fees and difficulty in consulting with him.
He told Musi that being escorted by 80 cars for his court appearance and waking up at 2am with chains around his ankles with frozen feet, was not “the way I want to proceed”.
“The national commissioner has taken the obligation of being in charge of me as an inmate. In that, all activities that involve Thabo Bester have a Thabo Bester Act, according to correctional services, the way I feel I’m treated,” he said.
ALSO READ: WATCH: A year since manhunt saw Bester and Magudumana return from Tanzania
“Even my presence in this court, I am not brought in this court freely where I can express myself. If you can look at me, in the way that I am cuffed, it is inhumane for a person who’s coming to defend and fight for his own life.”
Bester claimed he was being deprived of his right to legal representation.
“It’s not a matter of funds, it’s a matter of association and it’s not fair. It means I am not equal in this court.”
On 13 April 2023, a manhunt by law enforcement led to the return of South Africa’s most wanted fugitive and his girlfriend to the country.
The story of Bester and Magudumana captivated South Africa and the world, keeping South Africans on the edge of their seats.
Bester and Magudumana were brought back from Tanzania following his elaborate escape from the Mangaung Prison in the Free State.
The Facebook rapist faked his own death, allegedly with Magudumana’s help, to facilitate his audacious escape from the Mangaung Correctional Centre.
However, the Department of Correctional Services (DCS), which originally declared him dead, confirmed that the charred body found in his cell was not that of Bester, who was convicted in 2012 of rape and murder.
ALSO READ: ‘People can be fashionistas somewhere else’ – DCS hits back at Thabo Bester’s ‘theatricals’
