Thabo Bester may need to wiggle himself out of yet another legal rut after news reports suggested the convicted Facebook rapist was recently dropped by his second team of lawyers.
Thabo Bester reportedly loses second legal team
According to SABC News‘ Chriselda Lewis, Bester’s case could suffer yet another delay after his second legal team reportedly dropped him due to “failure to pay legal costs.”
While details on these developments are still scarce, it appears Bester’s misgiving millions were wasted away on a lavish fugitive lifestyle and no provisions were made for such rainy days. — and, boy, is this a heavy downpour.
Bester is due back in court on Tuesday, 16 May 2023, and it’s believed he may either show up with his third legal defence or take a blow to his inflated ego and request legal aid.
Of course, there is also the possibility that Bester may choose to represent himself, which is totally within his rights. Historically, however, this never bodes well for defendants of his ilk.
Ishmail Attorneys was the first legal firm to represent Bester when he was deported back to South Africa from Tanzania.
During his first court appearance, on Friday, 14 April 2023, Bester sent shockwaves reverberating across legal corridors when he bizarrely protested against prison food, claiming he feared being fed by the same institution that essentially aided him in his daring prison break.
“The constitutional institution has the responsibility of caring for such a person, with Correctional Services. He’s now their responsibility. The burden is now on the Correctional Services,” his lawyers claimed.
The suggestion was that he might be poisoned but the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court was in no mood to entertain Bester’s hysterics and quickly dismissed the issue.
Soon thereafter, Ishmail Attorneys withdrew from the matter citing a conflict of interest.
The convicted Facebook rapist, already convicted of two counts of rape and murder, stands accused of fraud, defeating the ends of justice, escaping from prison and violating the corpse of Katlego Bereng Mpholo.