Bester has a mountain of applications to climb before his trial begins next year.
Convicted murderer and “Facebook rapist” Thabo Bester has filed several interlocutory applications in various courts, which his lawyer says are necessary to prepare for his defence in the main trial.
Bester and his co-accused, including Dr Nandipha Magudumana and her father, among others, returned to the Bloemfontein High Court on Friday for a pre-trial hearing in the prison escape matter.
The hearing proceeded in Magudumana’s absence, a responsibility the investigating officer took full ownership of.
“She was equally frustrated because normally, she is ready to be taken to court at 6am, so she has been up since then until 9am when they arrived to take her to court, which is totally unacceptable,” her lawyer, Machini Motloung, told the court.
Another session will be held in her presence alone to keep her updated.
Bester’s applications
Bester, who is accused number seven in the matter, has a mountain to climb in this trial, which relies on his many other applications to succeed.
In the first application, to be heard on 22 January 2026, Bester seeks to address current arrangements that he says limit his consultation times.
In the second application in the Pretoria High Court, he is challenging his deportation from Tanzania.
“We do not have the date yet, but it has been lingering for quite a while, and we are challenging that it be heard as soon as possible. We hope that it will be heard early next year, if everything goes accordingly,” said his lawyer, MoAfrika Wa Maila.
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Another application is before the Johannesburg High Court and was supposed to be heard on 27 November. However, the respondents were late in their responses. It should be heard in the first quarter of 2026, said Bester’s lawyer.
“The application pertains to the classification of the accused seven at the Kgosi Mampuru Correctional Service. He is not presumed innocent until proven guilty; he has already been found guilty by the Correctional Service. We therefore request that his classification be amended because he is awaiting trial; this court has not made a ruling yet,” said Wa Maila.
Access to information
Another application at the Pretoria High Court for access to information.
“We have documents, classified information that we want to prepare for our defence, some of the documents are in possession of the president of South Africa, which will include the phone records of one of the politicians, I can name Mr Ronald Lamola, that will include some of the classified information of national intelligence.
“Those are the things that we want the court to order that they give to accused number seven in order for us to prove to this court. Should we not have access to this information, it will be terribly difficult for us to prepare for our defence.”
There is another application for a laptop for Bester to draft materials for the main trial.
Food in court
Although this one is not an official application, Bester has also requested that the court allow his legal representatives to bring him food in court.
However, the judge could not grant his request.
“That is within the realm of the executive. I cannot order the authorities to provide food for Bester, as you ask me to. It is outside my jurisdiction to do that. I am not going to entertain this issue further. It is for them to decide,” said the judge.
Bester’s defence is also in the process of having his accounts unfrozen so he can access the funds for the trial.
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“We are still busy trying to resolve this issue, which we need to bring to the attention of this court. We are preparing this application regarding the finances of the seventh accused, in which we are seeking to have his accounts, which have been frozen for a while, released so we can access the funds. It involves [ the Department of ] Home Affairs and the Reserve Bank, because he must be financially viable for this trial,” said Wa Maila.
“All these applications are very important for us to see them through before this trial proceeds. We are committing to this court that they will not delay the state. We hope that the courts these applications are sitting in will expedite the process.”
Bester’s stolen items
Wa Maila further called on the state to address the issue of Bester’s items, allegedly taken from him following his arrest in Tanzania.
“The state must address the court on record in relation to the missing items of Bester that were taken from him when he was arrested in Tanzania. They are recorded, including quite a large amount of money needed at this stage and expensive items such as laptops and phones,” said Wa Maila.
“We have been engaging the state, and the state is not forthcoming. If it is addressed on record, it will assist us with some applications so we can proceed. He is not financially challenged. He is looking to have funds from some bank accounts released so he can cover all the costs that are coming, as this trial will definitely take a long time.”
The case was postponed to 18 March 2026 for case management and will be heard virtually.
The trial is expected to start from 20 July 2026 to 18 September 2026.
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