Thabo Bester’s Court Bid Dismissed by Gauteng High Court, Judge Rules Legal Challenge Lacked Urgency

• Thabo Bester's application to be transferred back to a correctional facility in Gauteng was heard in the Gauteng High Court
• Judge Elizabeth Kubushi focused on the urgency of the application, and not the merits of Bester's argument
• The Department of Correctional Services stated that they were given very little time to respond to Bester's challenge

Byron Pillay, a Briefly News journalist, has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He spent 10 years working for the Northern Natal Courier before transitioning to online journalism.

GAUTENG – Thabo Bester will not be transferred back to a correctional facility in Gauteng as he hoped.

The convicted rapist and murderer was transferred from Kgosi Mamapuru II in Pretoria to eBongweni Super Maximum Correctional Centre in Kokstad because of security concerns, but he challenged that decision. The Department of Correctional Services explained that Bester was moved due to safety concerns.

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Bester approached the Gauteng High Court to ask that it order the Department of Correctional Services to immediately transfer him to a facility in Gauteng.

Court rules on Bester’s bid

On 10 February 2025, Judge Elizabeth Kubushi struck his matter off the court roll.

Judge Kubushi found that Bester’s ‘extremely urgent’ application was not so urgent that it could not afford Correctional Services time to reply to it. She also said that his matter was not properly enrolled, noting that nothing was barring him from enrolling the matter again if he so wished.

The court didn’t deal with the merits of the application

The court also did not focus on the merits of Bester’s application, as it ruled on the question of urgency first. Advocate Neil Snellenburg SC, who represented the Department of Correctional Services, asked the court to either strike the matter from the roll or allow the department time to answer the allegations. He explained that Bester’s legal team only provided them one day to oppose the urgent application and one day to file court papers.

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Bester’s lawyer, Benjamin Moafrika wa Maila, argued that his client’s Constitutional rights were infringed by his ‘secret, in the middle of the night’ transfer on 5 February 2026. He argued that this made the matter urgent.

What you need to know about Thabo Bester's case

• Dr Nandipha Magudumana claimed that Bester forced her to flee South Africa.
• The Bloemfontein Magistrates' Court denied Magudumana bail, stating that she was a flight risk.
• The state dropped its case against former G4S employee Natassja Jansen in October of the same year.
• Documents leaked in February 2024 exposed an array of criminal activities in prison linked to Bester.
• An analyst said that Magudumana was distancing herself from Bester after they appeared in court in June 2024.

Bester is unhappy with prison conditions

Briefly News reported that Bester expressed unhappiness with his conditions behind bars ahead of his upcoming trial.

The convicted murderer and rapist is currently incarcerated in Kgoši Mampuru II Correctional Facility's C-Max section.

South Africans shared their thoughts on social media about Bester's application and his complaints about prison.

Source: Briefly News