Convicted killer and rapist Thabo Bester looked visibly angry when he appeared in the Free State High Court for his prison escape pre-trial hearing on Wednesday.

The court postponed the pre-trial to February 10, 2025.

Earlier in the day, Judge Cagney Musi asked legal representatives to confirm if they were ready.

The case was meant to be brief but there were arguments between Musi and Bester’s lawyer Advocate Lerato Moela, before the matter was postponed.

Bester in 2022 escaped from the Mangaung Correctional facility managed by G4S. Together with his girlfriend, disgraced Dr Nandipha Magudumana and Zanda Moyo, they were arrested in Arusha, Tanzania, in April last year, and have been in custody since.

Bester, Magudumana, Senohe Matsoara, Zolile Sekeleni, Teboho Liphoko, Buti Masukela, Tieho Makhotsa, Moyo, and Joel Makhetha are facing charges of fraud, corruption, assisting an inmate to escape, violation of the body, arson, and defeating the ends of justice. The eight accused are alleged to have assisted in Bester’s escape where he was serving a sentence for murder and rape.

NPA Regional spokesperson Acting Free State Division Mojalefa Senokoatsane said Bester, Magudumana and Moyo are remanded in custody after they were denied bail by the Bloemfontein District Court. The other six accused are out on bail of R10 000 each.

Bester is seeking the court’s intervention in what he called “unfair” treatment by the Department of Correctional Services (DCS).

Ahead of the court proceedings, Bester Issued a statement accusing the DCS of keeping him in solitary confinement for up to 23 hours a day. He described this as “inhumane”.

‘The Star“ contacted the DCS following the accusations andthe institution said it derives its legal mandate from the Correctional Services Act, Act 111 of 1998.

DCS spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said the Act stipulates that inmates must be treated equally and that their rights, as enshrined in the Constitution, are respected.

“Notably, there is no practice of solitary confinement in South Africa. In May 2022, inmate Bester escaped from the Mangaung Correctional Centre. The escape was elaborately planned and well executed,” Nxumalo said.

He said on June 3, in a pre-trial conference, Bester requested to address the court following the withdrawal of his then legal representatives from record. In that address, Bester essentially admitted that he had escaped from custody. He went on to tell the court about other details pertaining to the case. This was also live on television.

“As DCS, it is clear that we are dealing with an inmate capable of engineering elaborate means to escape from lawful custody. Hence, we are duty-bound to employ strict security measures, within the confines of the law, in order to prevent any chance of him escaping once again.

“Apart from these security measures aimed at preventing an escape, the department has, since Bester’s admission at Kgoši Mampuru II Correctional Facility, treated him in the same manner that it treats other inmates at the said facility. The manner in which Bester has been treated is consistent with what is prescribed by the Correctional Services Act and the regulations promulgated under the Act (’the Regulations’).

“Basically, safe and humane custody of inmates is at the centre of the correctional system. The Act provides that the aim of a correctional system is to contribute to maintaining and protecting a just,peaceful and safe society by enforcing sentences of the courts in a manner prescribed by the Act and detaining all inmates in safe custody whilst ensuring their human dignity,” Nxumalo said.

He said in terms of Section 4(2)(a) of the Act, the department must take steps necessary to ensure the safe custody of every inmate and to maintain security in good order in every correctional facility.

Nxumalo further said Subsection (b) provides that the duties and restrictions imposed on inmates must be applied in such a manner that conforms to that post and should not affect an inmate to a greater degree or for a longer period than necessary.

“DCS recognises that imprisonment does not strip an individual of all the rights and entitlements he/she would ordinarily have. However, in the context of imprisonment, some of those rights are given effect to differently where it is possible, practical and safe to do so, while others inconsistent with imprisonment do not enjoy recognition (for instance the right to liberty). Equally, the department recognises that the conditions of detention of inmates should be consistent with human dignity including at least an opportunity to exercise and provision of adequate accommodation, nutrition,reading material and the opportunity to access legal advice,” he said.

Inmates are not entitled to be imprisoned with all the comforts they have enjoyed before their incarceration.

Nxumalo emphasised that a correctional centre is not akin to one’s own private residence. Therefore, those amenities that a person would ordinarily enjoy outside the Centre are not necessarily available in a correctional facility.

“That is an invariable consequence of being imprisoned. When it comes to solitary confinement, it is incorrect and fallacious for Bester to say he is being kept in solitary confinement for 23 hours per day and only allowed one hour of exercise.

“C-Max, at Kgoši Mampuru is a high security facility. It comprises only single cells. Hence, all inmates in the facility do not share a cell. Therefore, the impression created by Bester that he is in a single cell, as a form of solitary confinement is disingenuous.

“Bester gets an opportunity to exercise for an hour every day. That is the minimum time of exercise permitted by Section 11 of the Correctional Services Act. The exercise always takes place in open air unless the weather does not permit. During the time allocated for exercising, an inmate has an option to participate in other recreational activities.

“Bester and other inmates in C-Max are also afforded a reasonable opportunity to have telephonic contact with and to be visited by their families when such visits are properly arranged with the centre,” Nxumalo said.

He further said equally, Bester’s assertion that he is segregated is not correct.

“The facility comprises only of single cells. Access to legal advice and representation: Section 17 of the Correctional Services Act reaffirms the right of inmates to have access to legal rights and to prepare their defence.

“Bester is asking for ‘an in-person or physical legal consultations’ of not less than seven hours on prior arrangements and to allow him to use a laptop/tablet or any suitable gadget.

“He complains about a consultation using wall steel telephone whilst separated by a glass with his legal representatives is not meaningful.

“Bester suggests that he should be afforded an opportunity to consult with his legal representatives in a specific office at the centre. With respect, there is no merit in Bester’s request. To be succinct, the request is unreasonable,” he said.

Nxumalo added that Bester’s legal representatives can communicate with him during the consultation and take down the necessary notes.

Nxumalo said a consultation with his legal representatives from 9am - 4pm on a daily basis is neither reasonable nor practical.

“Kgoši Mampuru houses hundreds of inmates who also need to use the consultation rooms. The Regulations allow for consultations on a daily basis from 8am until 3pm in the afternoon. Therefore, if Bester’s request is acceded to, it will mean that one of the consultation rooms will be occupied by him the whole day,” Nxumalo said.

He revealed that, for the period October 12 2023 until July 16 2024, Bester made hundreds of telephone calls to various lawyers.

A telephone call register is kept by the facility.

He said during all these consultations and telephone calls, a correctional official is on site but not within a hearing distance.

Nxumalo said the inmate’s privacy and legal professional privilege is respected at all times.

“The centre has allowed Bester a reasonable opportunity to access legal advice and representation. All legal practitioners who made appropriate and reasonable arrangements to consult with him were permitted to do so.

“In respect of the electronic gadgets/equipment, Bester’s request cannot be accepted. That request will pose a security risk to the centre and might enable him to orchestrate another escape.”

Nxumalo said the use of hand and leg cuffs on Bester is justified under Section 31 of the Correctional Services Act. Before his incarceration at Kgoši Mampuru, Bester had escaped from a maximum-security prison.

“Without a doubt, the department is justified in having an apprehension that Bester might attempt to escape again.

“Bester’s assertion that he is always handcuffed when being transported between the centre and court is false. During such transportation, only the legs are cuffed. The same applies when he is in the holding cells at court. For security reasons, it is necessary for the legs to be cuffed when not in his cell,” Nxumalo said.

The Star

ntombi.nkosi@inl.co.za