By Khulile Thwala
Convicted murderer and ‘Facebook’ rapist Thabo Bester has tried and failed to get the court to allow special meals to be delivered to him in jail.
Bester appeared in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court following his extradition from Tanzania this week, along with his partner and co-accused, Doctor Nandipha Magudumana.
The pair have made headlines in recent weeks when it was revealed that Bester was not only alive after a fire in his prison cell but had been living with Magudumana in palatial homes all over Johannesburg.
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Bester asked to speak to the court to complain that he had not eaten in two days. Magistrate, Mohlolo Kgabisi, said Bester had the opportunity to speak to the court through his lawyer, Marvin Carpede.
Kgabisi asked for clarity on the allegation of Bester being possibly poisoned – and Carpede said Bester believed he would be poisoned in jail.
The State’s lawyer, Sello Matlhoko, said he was surprised to hear about this concern because Bester had, previously, eaten prison food for more than eight years, without being poisoned.
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Bester is the fifth accused person in a growing list of people charged with helping him to escape from the Mangaung Correctional Centre last year.
Unlike Magudumana, who covered her head and face during a court appearance on Thursday, Bester held his head high, smiled, and played to the cameras.
