Durban – Convicted murderer and “Facebook rapist” Thabo Bester will remain in South Africa’s highest-security prison after the Pretoria High Court ruled his urgent application to challenge his transfer to eBongweni Super Maximum Correctional Facility in KwaZulu-Natal lacked urgency.
Bester had sought to overturn his January transfer from Kgosi Mampuru Correctional Centre in Pretoria, claiming it would hinder preparations for his upcoming trial.
Judge Elizabeth Mamoloko Kubushi found no compelling reason for urgent consideration, striking the matter from the roll.
“There is no cogent reason mentioned in the founding affidavit why this matter was set down on such stringent timeframes, without giving the respondents adequate time to file their answering affidavits,” said Kubushi.
Thabo Bester’s defence team has explained the challenges it is faced with since Bester was transfered to eBongweni Super Maximum Correctional Facility in Kokstad, KZN. The Department of Correctional Services moved the convicted murderer and rapist from Kgosi Mampuru Correctional… pic.twitter.com/dRR4kRMyqb
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“I’m thus not persuaded that this matter is so urgent that anything more drastic than enrolment on the motion roll in the ordinary roll and on short notice is required.”
The Department of Correctional Services argued that Bester had not followed court procedures and needed to be given time to respond. Bester is serving a sentence for the 2011 murder of his girlfriend, Nomfundo Thyulu, and faces separate charges related to his 2022 escape from Mangaung Correctional Centre.
A pre-trial conference for the escape case is scheduled for 18 March 2026, with the main trial set to run from 20 July to 18 September 2026.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
