Thabo Bester appeared in the Free State High Court on Friday. Photo: Becker Semela
By Marecia Damons
- The long-delayed Thabo Bester trial is scheduled to begin on 20 July 2026.
- Bester has at least six pending court cases that are delaying proceedings.
- The cases are centred on complaints about his detention conditions, “unlawful deportation”, prison classification, access to classified documents, and frozen bank accounts.
- His co-accused, Nandipha Magudumana, is also challenging her arrest in Tanzania and return to South Africa in a separate matter being heard in the Constitutional Court.
Thabo Bester has at least six ongoing court cases that are delaying his trial.
The convicted rapist and murderer is accused of escaping from Mangaung prison in May 2022. Nandipha Magudumana, with whom he ran several scam companies, and six others are accused of helping him.
The trial was originally set down for February this year but was postponed to November because not all the accused had confirmed their lawyers. The case was then postponed again after Bester fired his legal team.
During a pre-trial hearing at the Free State High Court in Bloemfontein on Friday, a new trial date of 20 July 2026 was set. The trial is expected to take at least six weeks.
Several outstanding court applications, brought by Magudumana and Bester, need to be finalised before the trial can begin, the court heard on Friday.
Magudumana is still challenging her arrest in Tanzania, and wants her return to South Africa in April 2023 to be declared unlawful. Earlier this year, she failed to convince the Supreme Court of Appeal and has now approached the Constitutional Court. Papers are to be filed before the apex court by 19 December.
“By 20 July, everything should be finalised, and we would like to put the whole third term aside for this trial,” said prosecutor advocate Amanda Bester (not related to the accused).
Six pending cases
Bester has also launched an application in the North Gauteng High Court, which will be heard on 22 January, about the conditions of his detention.
Bester’s lawyer, advocate MoAfrika Wa Maila, told the court on Friday that he is unable to properly consult with his client. “Instead of us being there and writing notes, we have to speak through a phone, and those phones don’t even work properly,” he said.
“We have not yet consulted effectively since we came on record,” said Wa Maila.
Bester is also challenging his deportation from Tanzania. “If the court finds that he was wrongly deported, it will have a direct impact on the jurisdiction of this court,” Wa Maila argued.
A third application, in the High Court in Johannesburg, concerns Bester’s classification at Kgosi Mampuru prison. Wa Maila argued that Bester is being treated as if he has already been convicted. “We therefore request that these classifications be amended because he is still awaiting trial,” said Wa Maila.
At the time of his escape, Bester was still serving the remainder of his life sentence for rape and murder, for which he was convicted in 2012.
A fourth application, a Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) matter in the Pretoria High Court, seeks access to various classified documents and phone records, including those “in possession of the President” and “some of the classified information of national intelligence”.
Wa Maila said that without this information, “it will be terribly difficult” to prepare for the trial.
He said they are also filing a fifth application regarding Bester’s frozen bank accounts: “He must be able to be financially viable for this trial,” he said.
A sixth application is for access to a laptop so Bester can prepare for the trial.
Bester also requested that the court make an order for him to be provided with food when he comes to court, but the judge said this fell outside her jurisdiction.
Wa Maila said: “All of these applications are important for us to see through before the trial can proceed.”
Judge Opperman warned that the applications could further delay the trial for all the accused. “There might be a time when I will have to draw the line, but I will not be unfair … please do all you can for these matters to be expedited.”
Wa Maila also told the court that some of Bester’s belongings confiscated at his arrest in Tanzania were missing. But the state said a theft docket was opened in Pretoria and the NPA decided not to prosecute.
The accused will return to court on 18 March for a case management hearing ahead of the trial. Bester, Magudumana and co-accused Zanda Moyo, who was Magudumana’s gardener, remain in custody. The other five accused are out on bail.
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