Infamous prison break aficionado Thabo Bester returned to the dock for the first time in 2024, in what was slated to be the first of many pretrial hearings.
Thabo Bester pretrial postponed: Here’s what you must know
However, as expected in a case involving 12 accused, proceedings were hampered by several changes to legal representations and the latest list of complaints filed by the convicted Facebook Rapist, who, for the umpteenth time, registered a new defence attorney on record.
On Wednesday, Bester reunited with his former lover Dr Nandipha Magudumana, albeit this time around, the encounter was nowhere near the flirtatious affair the media exaggerated in late 2023.
Seated at opposite ends of the accuseds bench, the two alleged masterminds behind the infamous Mangaung prison break kept stoic postures as proceedings got underway for the first time this year.
A couple of developments surfaced from Wednesday’s court appearance.
Advocate Machini Motlaung reaffirmed his duty as the defence attorney of Magudumana, while Bester’s new lawyer, shortly after placing himself on record, kicked off the charades with a slew of complaints from the accused.
It seems Bester’s hunger strike from 2023, which he undertook to cast a spotlight on unidentified figures within the Correctional Services system supposedly hired to poison him, took a new turn when, on Wednesday, the Bloemfontein High Court was informed that the convicted killer, who, by the way, is diabetic, refused breakfast due to its high sugar content.
Bester also complained that he was not allowed to choose his court outfit and that prison guards were unfairly restricting him from making phone calls.
Of course, the court did not take the latter lightly. However, Bester’s lawyer, whose first consultation with his client was on Wednesday morning, was simply advised to look deeper into the convicted killer’s complaints and take matters up with the relevant authorities.
Following a series of housekeeping calls, state prosecutors and the defence rested on 5 June 2024 as an appropriate date to kick off pretrial proceedings into a case that is expected to run for at least 24 weeks.
Bester and Magudumana were captured on video as they made their way back to court holding cells, the disgraced doctor intent on not casting a glance at her former lover.
Watch the icy encounter below:
