Bester, Magudumana back in court in August
The case against prison escapee Thabo Bester and his accomplices has been adjourned to 8 August for further police investigations.
The group appeared in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.
Bester, who is also a convicted murderer and rapist, appeared in court virtually from the Kgosi Mampuru Correctional Centre in Pretoria.
Zanda Moyo, who is a Zimbabwean national, made only his second court appearance.
Moyo told the court that he would be abandoning his bail application.
Meanwhile, Bester’s legal representatives told the court that they would no longer be representing the so-called Facebook rapist.
Advocate Jeremiah Pela and instructing Attorney Tsireledzo Ndou told the court that a new representative would be appointed.
“We request to bring an application for recusal in the main matter, myself and the instructing attorney Mr Ndou.
“We had the discussion with our client Mr. Thabo Bester and we came to an agreement that there won’t be further instructions from today (Tuesday) from Mr Ndou and I.
“Based on that, we do not have any further instructions to proceed with this matter. It is our humble request that the court accepts our humble request.”
Bester’s new lawyer Kabelo Matee is expected to be present during the next court appearance.
State prosecutor Sello Matlhoko said three more arrested are expected in connection with Bester’s escape from the Mangaung Correctional Centre in May last year.
“Briefly, the state still requires two witness statements, and we are expecting to add three more suspects in this matter. Police are still busing analysing the cell phones and the bank statements”.
Dr Nandipha Magudumana’s father, Zolile Sekeleni's plea to not attend the court proceedings in person as he lives far was denied by the magistrate.
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