Thabo Bester and Dr Nandipha Magudumana Face Extended Wait Before Trial
- Convicted rapist and murderer Thabo Bester's prison escape trial has been set down for 19 February 2025
- Bester, Dr Nandipha Magudumana and seven others faced a litany of charges related to the convicted killer’s 2022 prison escape
- Bester and his partner Magudumana, who were on the run, were apprehended in Tanzania in April 2023
Zingisa Chirwa is an experienced Briefly News journalist based in Johannesburg, South Africa, who has covered court proceedings and current affairs on the radio for over 15 years.
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Convicted rapist and murderer Thabo Bester and his co-accused must wait another six months before their trial can officially commence on 19 February 2025.
Trial date set for 2025
Bester, Dr Nandipha Magudumana, and seven others appeared in the Free State High Court on 31 July 2024, where the trial date was finalised. The group was charged for their role in Bester’s bold escape from the Mangaung Maximum Security Prison in May 2022.
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According to EWN, the group faced more than 30 counts, including fraud, corruption, arson, violating a corpse, and aiding and abetting a prisoner escape.
Bester and his partner Magudumana were caught on the run in Tanzania in April 2023.
What you need to know about the Thabo Bester case
- The lawyer who represented accused numbers three and five withdrew from the case
- Thabo Bester asked for the death sentence after complaining about life behind bars
- A leaked report alleged that Bester was the head of a prison prostitution ring
- After her arrest, Magudumana unsuccessfully tried to apply for bail
Mzansi weighs in
Many netizens shared their opinions about the impending trial.
@XUFFLER said:
“Nandipha to spend another Christmas behind bars? 😭😭😭”
@Yolly16680 added:
“February? we want this case to be over and done with, for some of us it's triggering seeing this man, he needs to go back in that cell and stay in there for a long time.”
@dekra18258519 speculated:
“In February, Nandipha will get bail, the media will ease up on the case, and to avoid being persuaded, the case will dreck longer than Omotoso, and he will be back to business as usual. Then the Correctional Ministry will be bribed. from Feb Thabo can plan another massive escape.”
@NubianSen guessed:
“They are just teaching him a lesson after that think piece that he wrote. Ebile it should be February of 2027.”
@_Mkha_Lu2li said:
“This will be another Senzo Meyiwa case. Postponement again and again 🥱”
Police capture Jacques Freitag's murder suspects in Sabie guesthouse
Briefly News reported that the police arrested the couple linked to the murder of former high jump world champion Jacques Freitag.
The SAPS traced Rudie Lubbe and Chantelle Oosthuizen to a guesthouse in Sabie, Mpumalanga.
The duo faced charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
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Source: Briefly News
