Convicted murderer and “Facebook rapist” Thabo Bester will remain behind bars at the country’s most tightest security facility after he failed to convince the court that his matter was urgent.
Bester’s urgent application challenging his transfer to the eBongweni Super Maximum Correctional Facility in Kokstad, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) was struck from the roll for lack of urgency on Tuesday.
Urgent application
He approached the Pretoria High Court with an urgent application challenging his transfer from Kgosi Mampuru Correctional Centre in Pretoria to the eBongweni Super Maximum in January.
Bester wanted the court to set aside the decision and order his transfer back to the correctional facility in Pretoria.
Judgement
However, Judge Elizabeth Mamoloko Kubushi found that Bester had not made out a case on the founding affidavit for bringing the matter on an extremely urgent basis
“There is no cogent reason mentioned in the founding affidavit why this matter was set down on such stringent timeframes, without giving the respondents adequate time to file their answering affidavits.
“I’m thus not persuaded that this matter is so urgent that anything more drastic than enrolment on the motion roll in the ordinary roll and on short notice is required,” said Kubushi.
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Preparing for trial
Earlier, Bester’s lawyer, Advocate Mo Afrika Maile, said they are already struggling to prepare for Bester’s trial.
“As we are busy preparing for a trial, which will be set down on the 18th of March. Now it shows us to say we do not have more time to prepare for a trial. So, the reason we say, when the first respondent, the Correctional Services, says move him to eBongweni Super Max, it then cripples our case, because we are completely failing to consult.
“We have already explained that Mr Thabo Bester will suffer if this matter is not addressed urgently. One of those we talk about the trial preparations to say we were even in court on the 5th of February, addressing the issues with consultation, when we are busy addressing these issues, the respondent chooses to ignore everything,” Maile argued.
Thabo Bester’s defence team has explained the challenges it is faced with since Bester was transfered to eBongweni Super Maximum Correctional Facility in Kokstad, KZN. The Department of Correctional Services moved the convicted murderer and rapist from Kgosi Mampuru Correctional… pic.twitter.com/dRR4kRMyqb
– Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) February 10, 2026
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Court rules
Advocate Neil Snellenburg, representing the Department of Correctional Services (DCS), told the court to either strike the matter from the roll or allow the department time to answer the allegations.
Snellenburg argued that the respondents were entitled to be afforded a reasonable period to put their case before the court, and that Bester had not complied with the court rules.
He told the court that while Bester’s legal team kept referring to a trial, only the pre-trial conference was scheduled for March.
Sentence
Bester is serving a sentence for the 2011 murder of his then-girlfriend, Nomfundo Thyulu.
He is facing a separate charge for his brazen escape from the G4S-run Mangaung Correctional Centre in Bloemfontein in May 2022.
It was initially believed he had committed suicide by setting himself alight in his cell.
Trial
In December last year, Bester filed several interlocutory applications in various courts, which his lawyer said were necessary to prepare for his defence in the main trial.
Bester and his co-accused, including Dr Nandipha Magudumana and her father, returned to the Bloemfontein High Court for a pre-trial hearing in the prison escape matter.
The case was postponed to 18 March 2026 for case management and will be heard virtually.
The trial is expected to start from 20 July 2026 to 18 September 2026.
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