The case against murderer and rapist Thabo Bester has been postponed to May 16.
Bester appeared before the Bloemfontein magistrate’s court on Friday after he and his lover, Dr Nandipha Magudumana, were extradited from Tanzania, where they were nabbed trying to skip the border to Kenya on Friday last week.
Bester, who abandoned his bail application, is facing multiple charges including escaping from lawful custody.
Although he reserved his right to apply for bail in the future, the court ruled that he must remain in custody until his next court appearance.
The state requested a one-month postponement for further investigation, stating that Bester, who is already a sentenced prisoner, does not require time to prepare for a bail application.
However, Bester’s lawyer objected, claiming that his client has a right to a speedy trial.
The state argued that the investigations are extensive and cannot be concluded within a month despite Bester having already received a life sentence.
Bester requested to address the court but was denied the opportunity. His lawyer informed the court that he feels unsafe in prison and has not eaten since his incarceration.
The state contended that the court cannot interfere with matters concerning the Department of Correctional Services and that Bester cannot expect to be treated differently from other inmates.
Additionally, Bester asked to be given the details of his extradition since he does not possess a South African ID, but the state maintained that he should have resolved the ID issue while in Tanzania.
Prior to the court proceedings, Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi disclosed that Bester does not possess a South African passport.
Bester and his accomplices were found in possession of multiple passports including two belonging to Mmereka Ntshani, better known as Dr Pashy.
Motsoaledi confirmed that Bester was never officially registered as a South African citizen due to complications arising from his upbringing.
He explained that his mother, Maria Mabaso, was unable to register him after giving birth at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital on June 13 1986, saying Bester only registered for school in 1997 and managed to get as far as grade 5.
“Bester’s mother was never registered when she was born. In other words, she had no birth certificate, no ID when she was 37 in 2002,” said Motsoaledi.
“In 2002, her mother passed on and her aunt decided to take Bester’s mother for registration. In other words, they did a late registration of birth.”
Motsoaledi said Mabaso took on her aunt’s surname and not the one she used when she gave birth to Bester.
“She then decided there that ‘since I’m registered’, let me register my kids also, and she registered them under the same surname of the aunt. All the three kids registered suddenly became Mabaso, no longer Besters. They got their birth certificates, they got their IDs.”
Bester had no contact with his mother after 2006 until his arrest in 2011.
“So as I said, Bester never registered with Home Affairs at any stage. The only place you could find him, as police said, was in correctional services when he was an inmate, that’s where you will find his fingerprints.
“Otherwise, in terms of registration, in the civil manner, the only other place where you could find Bester is Chris Baragwanath Hospital in the records that are now 37 years old.
“So, as we have said, because Bester never took an ID, never married, never took a passport in Home Affairs, he simply did not exist in our systems. Bester does not have any passport with Home Affairs,” said Motsoaledi.
The minister further stated that Bester probably fell into the hands of criminals who use young children whose fingerprints are not on the Home Affairs system.
“I think he fell into the hands of criminals who are known to use young kids whose fingerprints do not exist in Home Affairs, because your fingerprints only start existing on our system when you are 16.”
He added that Bester was first convicted when he was 17, which would have made him eligible for an ID.
Motsoaledi also revealed that Bester and Magudumana did not cross any border legally, and that Bester was found in Tanzania in possession of an American passport under the name Tom Williams Kelly.
Unlike her lover, Magudumana is registered as a South African citizen, confirmed Motsoaledi.
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