Thabo Bester, Nandipha Magudumana, and the seven co-accused made another appearance at the Bloemfontein High Court on Wednesday morning.
The case, which was supposed to be a pretrial proceeding, was moved to February 2025.
The bail of those who are out has been extended by Judge John Musi, while the remaining individuals will remain in detention until next year.
Accused ready for trial
For the purpose of handling the supplementary application, Bester and his legal team remained in court after the proceedings were adjourned.
Before the short adjournment to discuss trial dates among the state and defence teams, Musi asked all the other legal representatives of the accused if they were ready for trial.
All the accused said they were ready for trial except Bester, who is accused number seven.
Bester’s legal team has asked the court to make an application, which should be dealt with before the trial dates that will be set.
The trial would begin on February 10, 2025, and continue until the end of the term, with the option to use the third term, the state prosecutor informed the court.
The dates had been discussed with all pertinent counsel.
Bester denied chance to address court
After the eight accused were excused, Bester’s lawyer addressed the court on their application regarding jurisdiction.
However, Musi said the matter was not ready for hearing because they (Bester and his lawyer) had not filed a reply.
The judge said he was not going to entertain Bester’s lawyer’s half-baked application until it was complete for a hearing.
He further stated that he will only assign a judge to look into the matter when the relevant papers are ready.
Bester then attempted to address the court, but Musi dismissed him, telling him to communicate via his legal counsel.
Also Read: Bester, Magudumana and seven co-accused’s matter postponed
