By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The State has withdrawn charges against three of the accused in the case against convicted murderer and rapist Thabo Bester.
Charges were withdrawn against accused 7 Nastassja Jansen, accused 10 Thabang Meir, and accused 12 Moeketsi Ramolula.
State prosecutor Amanda Bester told Chief Acting Magistrate Estelle de Lange charges will be dropped against accused 7, accused 10 and accused 12.
She said the state was also ready to hand over the indictment which sets out the charges to the remaining accused.
The former G4S operator Jansen and the suspended G4S officials were charged with aiding and abetting Bester to escape from lawful custody at the Mangaung Prison Centre under the guard of G4S.
Bester used Katlego Bereng’s body as a decoy to escape from lawful custody where he was serving a jail sentence for murder, rape, and robbery.
The group returned to the Bloemfontein Magistrates Court on Wednesday morning after the matter was postponed for further investigation.
During proceedings, Bester told the court Advocates Dali Mpofu and Zandile Mshololo would be joining his legal team.
“I feel that there is quite a few things I want them to deal with.”
Bester and Nandipha Magudumana were arrested in Tanzania. It’s said that after Bester escaped from G4S, he had a lavish lifestyle in Johannesburg. But after being re-arrested in Tanzania, he and her accomplice were brought back to South Africa.
Bester was sent to the Kgosi Mampuru Maximum Correctional Centre, while Magudumana was brought to Bloemfontein where she appeared in court on 13 April 2023. She remains in custody in Kroonstad.
Meanwhile Magudumana had to receive medical attention after she fainted in the holding cells of the Park Road police station.
Her lawyer Machini Motloung told the media that he had spoken to the area commissioner and the medical officer who had attended to his client, and it was confirmed that Magudumana was unwell.
According to Motloung “arrangements” to accommodate Magudumana’s health condition.
The attorney described allegations his client had been forced into the back of a police van from the Kroonstad women’s prison as “inhumane” and a “gross violation” of her right to dignity.
Last month, Magudumana who is accused of helping Bester, convicted killer and rapist, escape from the Manguang prison lost her bid to be released on bail after the court found she was a flight risk.
A total of 12 suspects have been arrested for their role in the elaborate May 2022 prison break saga, which involved the placement of Katlego Bereng’s body in Bester’s prison cell before it was set alight.
The suspects are Senohe Matsoara, Zolile Sekeleni (Magdumana’s father), Teboho Lipholo, Dr Nandipha Magudumana, Thabo Bester, Buti Masukela, Teiho Makhotsa, Nastassja Jansen, Zando Moyo, Joel Maketha, Moeketsi Ramolula, and Thabang Meir.