The court is expected to assess the status of pending legal matters and finalise issues ahead of the provisional trial date scheduled from 20 July to 18 August. Bester and his co-accused face charges including aiding and abetting his escape from prison, arson and violating a corpse. 

They stem from Bester’s dramatic escape from the Mangaung Correctional Centre in May 2022.

During previous court proceedings, Bester highlighted several interlocutory matters that remain before various courts and which, according to his legal team, have affected preparations for trial. His lawyer, Adv. MoAfrika wa Maila, argued the unresolved matters have had a significant impact on the defence’s readiness.

These include an application to have Bester’s bank account unfrozen, Maila contended, as well as an application concerning his detention conditions and alleged difficulties in consulting with his legal representatives.

In March, Bester brought an urgent application before the Gauteng High Court challenging the legality of his continued incarceration following his re-arrest after escaping from the Mangaung Correctional Centre. Representing himself, Bester argued authorities were treating him as though he had already been found guilty in the pending escape-related case that is due to be heard in the Free State High Court.

‘I do not enjoy the rights of an accused person’

The legality of his incarceration depends on the validity of warrants issued by courts in the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal in 2011 and 2012, said Bester.

“At this stage, I do not enjoy the rights of an accused person,” he said, adding he is being treated as a sentenced offender while simultaneously facing trial on charges related to the same alleged escape.

His re-arrest in Tanzania in April 2023 and subsequent return to South Africa were not supported by a judicial order confirming the validity of the warrants under which he is currently being detained, Bester claimed.

He accused the state of overreach, alleging it is acting as complainant, adjudicator and enforcer in the matter. He also raised concerns about his detention conditions, claiming he has been held in solitary confinement for an extended period based solely on allegations relating to his escape.

The court is also expected to receive an update on a separate legal challenge involving Bester's co-accused, Nandipha Magudumana. She is seeking an order from the Constitutional Court declaring her arrest and deportation from Tanzania in April 2023 unlawful.

In May, the Constitutional Court heard her appeal after her application was dismissed by the Supreme Court of Appeal. Meanwhile, Bester, Magudumana and co-accused Zanda Moyo remain in custody, while the remaining accused have been released on bail pending trial.

Bester is being held at the eBongweni Super Maximum Correctional Facility in Kokstad, KwaZulu-Natal. Magudumana, who is being detained in Kroonstad, is expected to appear virtually during the proceedings.

OFM News/Kekeletso Mosebetsi sm

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