Thabo Bester Escape: NPA Drops Murder Charge Against Dr Nandipha and Convicted Killer Thabo Bester

• The National Prosecuting Authority has dropped the murder charge in the Thabo Bester escape case
• The charge related to the body of Katlego Mpholo, which was set alight in Bester's prison cell to conceal his escape
• The police report claims that Mpolo collapsed while walking in town and later died in a hospital, but an autopsy showed he died from blunt force trauma to the head

BLOEMFONTEIN - The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has let Thabo Bester and Dr Nandipha Magudumana off the hook for murder.

This was revealed before Magudumana and her co-accused, Senohe Matsoara and Tebogo Lipholo, appeared in the Bloemfontein Magistrates Court for a bail application on Wednesday, 3 May.

Murder charge dropped from Thabo Bester escape case charge sheet

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According to News24, there is no murder charge against any of the accused on the charge sheet in the Thabo Bester escape case.

However, the group still face 16 other charges, including defeating the ends of justice, aiding and abetting, corruption and fraud and charges of violating a corpse.

The murder charges related to the body that was set alight in Thabo Bester's cell to conceal his May 2022 escape. It was later revealed that the body belonged to Katlego Mpholo, who was reported missing by his family in 2022.

Katlego Mpholo's family rejects police report on loved one's death

The official police report claims that Mpholo collapsed while walking in town in Bloemfontein and was taken to hospital, where he died.

An autopsy on Mpholo's body revealed that the man died because of blunt-force trauma to the head. Mpholo's family has rejected the police report, eNCA reported.

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South Africans slam the judicial system for dropping the murder charge

Below are some comments:

Shongile Zainab Patel said:

"Our justice system is a joke."

Nkosinathi Khoza claimed:

"Now we are on episode five two more to come, then they will walk free."

Masole Waga Mohlala II complained:

"South Africa is a nation of NO JUSTICE for criminality. We should learn to accept that."

Mduduzi Julius Katjedi commented:

"That was inevitable This country is a joke."

Ntando Khum added:

"This is the biggest joke that I ever heard before. Just elect Bester as president of this country in 2024 because it's clear this country is for thugs."

Thabo Bester escape: Katlego Mpholo’s family threatens legal action against G4S and government

In a related story, Briefly News reported that the family of the man whose body was used to conceal Thabo Bester's audacious prison break want the government and G4S held accountable.

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Opposition party ActionSA has offered to help Katlego Bereng Mpholo's family open a case against the private security company, the Department of Health and Correctional Services.

The family has been inconsolable since Friday, 21 April, when police identified the charred body that was left in Bester's cell after he escaped the Mangaung Correctional Facility.

Source: Briefly News