Judge dismisses Thabo Bester's application on his prison conditions

JOHANNESBURG - The presiding judge in the Thabo Bester prison escape matter has dismissed his application on the conditions of his imprisonment as half-baked and unripe.

The application was brought by Bester’s lawyer, claiming his client was being ill-treated behind bars.

The convicted killer and rapist returned to the Free State High Court with his co-accused on Wednesday, where the date for his prison break case was set for February.

Bester, his accomplice, Nandipha Magudumana, and seven others are facing a range of charges including arson, aiding and abetting a prisoner escape, fraud and corruption in connection with Bester’s prison break from the Mangaung correctional facility two years ago.

Bester spent the afternoon raising his hand out of frustration in a bid to address the court.

This as his lawyer, Advocate Lerato Moela, sought to convince Judge Cagney Musi to hear his application.

READ: Thabo Bester hires 6th lawyer to represent him in his prison escape case

Bester argued that his rights in terms of Section 35 of the Constitution had been violated.

But Judge Musi was not convinced, questioning how some of Bester’s demands, including how his meals were prepared and access to a laptop, were linked to the section.

The judge, who let out multiple sighs while engaging Moela, refused to hear Bester’s application, arguing that Bester’s application had both criminal and civil elements and was not ready to be argued.

Advocate Moela was instructed to prepare his answering affidavit in response to the papers filed by the departments that he had cited.

Meanwhile, in a statement, Correctional Services has hit back at Bester’s allegations, saying the department must employ strict security measures as it was dealing with an inmate capable of engineering elaborate means to escape lawful custody.