Thabo Bester was convicted of rape and sent to one of South Africa’s highest-security jails. On Tuesday, Bester and his co-defendant are expected to appear in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court. They will likely talk more about the complicated and dramatic plan they used to escape.
The Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court will see Bester, Dr. Nandipha Magudumana, and her father, Zolile Sekeleni, again, along with the five former G4S workers who are accused of helping Bester escape from prison.
But Bester is supposed to be there online instead of in person.
eNCA said last week that the Department of Correctional Services had asked for Bester to make a virtual appearance because they were worried about security risks.
eNCA also said that sources said there were security worries about taking Bester from the Kgosi Mampuru II Correctional Facility in Pretoria to court.
Five prison employees who are said to have helped Bester with his plan to escape have been caught and taken to court in Bloemfontein.
Mutenyane Masukela is the most recent official to be taken into custody. He is said to have let Bester in.
Magudumana is one of the people accused of fraud and corruption. He is also accused of breaking the law by touching a dead body, hiding a fledgling criminal, and trying to stop justice from happening.
The bail hearing for former G4S guards Senohe Matsoara, Motenyani Masukela, Tieho Makhotsa, and Natassja Jansen, as well as Integritron Integrated Solutions worker Teboho Lipholo, has been moved to Tuesday so that more evidence can be presented and police witness Tieho Flyman can be cross-examined.
Magudumana was the only accused person who temporarily gave up on her bail application last week, saying that she had found new proof.
Magudumana, Bester, and a Mozambican national were all arrested in Arusha, Tanzania, earlier this month. They had left the country when it was discovered that Bester had gotten out of jail.
Bester got out of jail in May 2022 after his friends from G4S helped him fake his death. They brought a dead body to his private cell and burned it.
Katlego Bereng’s body, which was 30 years old, was set on fire in Bester’s jail cell to make it look like the Facebook rapist had died.
The justice and correctional services standing committee looked into how Bester got out of jail last month. It was said that 23 people who were on duty when Bester got away were being investigated.
The committee also heard that Bester was moved into cell 35 without following the right steps and that when he fled, the cameras that were pointed at the cell were not working.
