Bester claims he's not being treated fairly as legal representatives withdraw from case

BLOEMFONTEIN - Convicted killer and accused prison escapee, Thabo Bester, had an emotional outburst in the Bloemfontein High Court where he has appeared for his pre-trial proceedings.

Bester, his lover and accomplice, Nandipha Magudumana, and seven others, including her father, returned to the dock on Wednesday.

But the hearing could not proceed as Bester's third legal representatives withdrew from the case.

The 37-year-old was captured while on the run in Tanzania last year, together with Magudumana, after he fled from the Mangaung correctional facility where he was serving a life sentence.

Since his recapture in Tanzania in April last year, Bester has been through three lawyers and now, the third has also withdrawn from his case, citing the lack of financial instructions and the inability to consult with him while he's being kept at the C-max facility at the Kgosi Mampuru Prison.

This prompted an emotional rant from Bester, who claimed that he had not been able to consult in private with lawyers and had been treated unfairly.

"I don't feel like I am equally treated as any other accused person in this country. You have the media that has tarnished and destroyed me, it is already confirmed that I have escaped but there are no facts."

Wednesday's matter was presided over by Judge President Cagney Musi, who told Bester to ask his new lawyers to bring an application to the court if they were unable to consult with him.

While Bester told the court that he would be able to secure new legal representatives in a week, the matter has been postponed to 24 July.