Prison escapee and multiple offender Thabo Bester has once again made several demands for the relaxation of his jail conditions as well as access to the use of a laptop, among other things.
Bester and his co-accused appeared in the Free State High Court for his prison escape pre-trial hearing on Wednesday. The pre-trial hearing was postponed to February 10, 2025.
Bester, alongside his co-accused, appeared in court following a scathing letter he wrote on Tuesday demanding some benefits.
It has been two years since Bester staged the infamous prison escape with the alleged help of his girlfriend Dr Nandipha Magudumana and other co-accused who were G4S employees at the time.
They are facing charges ranging from fraud, corruption, violating a corpse and aiding and abetting a prison escape.
Bester’s legal representative, advocate Lerato Moela, argued on his behalf about some of the issues affecting the rights of his client.
“What the Lordship has done is that he has created a situation as if we do not know what we are doing,” said Moela.
“We are informed by law and it is very important to place my version here. The fundamental basis of the application is Section 35(1)(a), 2(b), 2(e), 3(d), 3(h) of the Constitution. I am advised of the observance of this. When you look at all these provisions, they deal with a speedy trial.
“They deal with the right of consultation. They deal with the right of legal representation and we know when you determine the issue of jurisdiction. You look at the pleading of the filed papers on what they say. You don’t have to look for the merit of the reply. The founding papers tell you the rights that the accused is asserting,” he said.
Moela argued that his client’s rights were being ignored and prejudiced by the court following months of denial of some of his rights.
“The fact that he is complaining about his right to dignity does not remove the jurisdiction of this court. That is what the principle of the Constitution says. What you must do, you must accept that this version is true for the purposes of jurisdiction
“Even if he can lose on merit. So, it is unfair of the accused person who comes to court to assert Section 35 and is told because now he has raised the issue of torture. It is a fact that he has been tortured. Do not dispute that they are not torturing him in terms of the Correctional Services Act.
“Torture is not disputed. It is not disputed that he is incarcerated for 23 hours a day and only given one hour of exercise. We are simply saying that you act in terms of the Correctional Services Act. I can’t as a practitioner remain supine when I see those violations,” Moela said.
However, Judge Cagney Musi said Bester’s application against his prison condition was ill-advised.
Earlier in the day, Judge Musi asked legal representatives to confirm if they were ready. They were, except for Bester’s representative, Moela.
Bester, Magudumana, Senohe Matsoara, Zolile Sekeleni, Teboho Liphoko, Buti Masukela, Tieho Makhotsa, Zanda Moyo, and Joel Makhetha are facing charges of fraud, corruption, assisting an inmate to escape, violation of the body, arson, and defeating the ends of justice. The accused are alleged to have assisted in Bester’s escape where he was serving a sentence for murder and rape.
National Prosecuting Authority acting regional spokesperson for the Free State Division, Mojalefa Senokoatsane, said Bester, Magudumana and Moyo were remanded in custody after they were denied bail by the Bloemfontein District Court. The other six accused are out on bail of R10 000 each.
Bester is seeking the court’s intervention in what he called “unfair” treatment by the Department of Correctional Services (DCS).
Bester issued a statement accusing the DCS of keeping him in solitary confinement for up to 23 hours a day. He described this as “inhumane”.
The Star contacted the DCS following the accusations. The institution said it derived its legal mandate from the Correctional Services Act, Act 111 of 1998.
DCS spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said the act stipulated that inmates must be treated equally and that their rights, as enshrined in the Constitution, were respected.
“Notably, there is no practice of solitary confinement in South Africa. In May 2022, inmate Bester escaped from the Mangaung Correctional Centre. The escape was elaborately planned and well executed,” Nxumalo said.
“As DCS, it is clear that we are dealing with an inmate capable of engineering elaborate means to escape from lawful custody. Hence, we are duty-bound to employ strict security measures, within the confines of the law, in order to prevent any chance of him escaping once again.”
Nxumalo emphasised that a correctional centre was not akin to one’s own private residence. Therefore, those amenities that a person would ordinarily enjoy outside the centre were not necessarily available in a correctional facility.
“That is an invariable consequence of being imprisoned. When it comes to solitary confinement, it is incorrect and fallacious for Bester to say he is being kept in solitary confinement for 23 hours per day and only allowed one hour of exercise.”
Nxumalo added that Bester’s legal representatives could communicate with him during consultations and take down the necessary notes.
The Star
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