Thabo Bester appears at Bloemfontein High Court on 5 June 2024. Picture: Gallo Images/Mlungisi Louw Convicted murderer and “Facebook rapist” Thabo Bester has filed several interlocutory applications in various courts, which his lawyer says are necessary to prepare for his defence in the main trial. Bester and his co-accused, including Dr Nandipha Magudumana and her father, among others, returned to the Bloemfontein High Court on Friday for a pre-trial hearing in the prison escape matter.
The hearing proceeded in Magudumana’s absence, a responsibility the investigating officer took full ownership of. “She was equally frustrated because normally, she is ready to be taken to court at 6am, so she has been up since then until 9am when they arrived to take her to court, which is totally unacceptable,” her lawyer, Machini Motloung, told the court. Another session will be held in her presence alone to keep her updated.
Bester, who is accused number seven in the matter, has a mountain to climb in this trial, which relies on his many other applications to succeed. In the first application, to be heard on 22 January 2026, Bester seeks to address current arrangements that he says limit his consultation times. In the second application in the Pretoria High Court, he is challenging his deportation from Tanzania.
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“We do not have the date yet, but it has been lingering for quite a while, and we are challenging that it be heard as soon as possible. We hope that it will be heard early next year, if everything goes accordingly,” said his lawyer, MoAfrika Wa Maila. Another application is before the Johannesburg High Court and was supposed to be heard on 27 November.
However, the respondents were late in their responses. It should be heard in the first quarter of 2026, said Bester’s lawyer.
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