By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The North Gauteng High Court has struck of the roll an urgent application by the convicted murderer and rapist Thabo Bester, who was challenging his recent transfer from Kgosi Mampuru Prison to eBongweni prison in Kokstad.
Bester argues that the move is unlawful, unconstitutional and undermines his ability to prepare for his ongoing escape trial in the Free State High Court in Bloemfontein.
His legal team contends that they were not informed of the decision to move him and that his detention at eBongweni, makes it difficult for him to consult properly with his lawyers, who are based in Gauteng.
During the proceedings, the court did not deal with the merits of his application, it ordered that both parties argue the urgency of the matter.
Bester’s counsel, Benjamin Moafrika wa Maila, argued about his client’s Constitutional rights which have been infringed by his “secret in the middle of the night” move to Kokstad’s super prison on February 5, which he said made the matter urgent.
He pointed out that days after the move, Bester was due to argue an urgent application before the Bloemfontein High Court regarding his conditions of incarceration at Kgosi Mampuru Prison’s C-Max, and the fact that he cannot prepare for his criminal trial while in that prison.
Maila said while it was very difficult to consult with him in C-Max, his move to Kokstad’s super prison now made it near impossible as they can only have very short phone conversations.
In response, Advocate Neil Snellenburg SC for the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) asked the court to either strike the matter from the roll or, alternatively, afford the department time to answer the allegations made against it by Bester.
He argued that Bester’s legal team only gave the department one day to note its opposition to the urgent application and one day to file court papers, deviating from the standard practice of giving respondents 10 days to respond and file their papers.
Judge Elizabeth Kubushi found his “extremely urgent” application not to be so urgent as to not afford Correctional Services time to reply to it. She also found that it was not properly enrolled. She said there is nothing barring Bester to again enroll the matter if he so wished.
Bester, serving a life sentence for two counts of rape and one count of murder, escaped from the Mangaung Correctional Centre in May 2022, with the help of his accomplice Dr Nandipha Magudumana and several officials from the prison, run by multinational security company G4S.
The accused face 16 charges between them, including fraud, corruption, assisting an inmate escape, and the violation of dead bodies.