Another suspect has been added to the controversial Thabo Bester prison escape case.
According to police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe, a 31-year-old Zimbabwean man was arrested in Johannesburg on Sunday and is expected to appear at the Bloemfontein magistrate’s court on Tuesday.
The man becomes the ninth suspect accused of aiding Bester to escape from the Mangaung Correctional Centre in May 2022.
“At this stage he faces a charge of assisting an inmate to escape from lawful custody. The suspect is likely to face additional charges. The possibility of police effecting more arrests cannot be ruled out,” said Mathe.
Meanwhile, Bester and his partner Nandipha Magudumana are expected back in the magistrate’s court next week.
Magudumana recently suffered a blow when the high court in Bloemfontein dismissed her application to declare her purported deportation unlawful.
Her legal team argued in court that she was not deported but extradited, claiming it was inconsistent with the law.
The court acknowledged that she may have been extradited but dismissed her application because she agreed to be taken back to her country of origin, citing her desire to be reunited with her children.
Magudumana is said to have applied for leave to appeal the ruling, arguing that consent cannot be given to unconstitutional and unlawful conduct.
She contends that the court relied on cases that were decided before the final constitution was adopted and failed to take into account the rights and values enshrined in the constitution.
It remains to be seen whether the Supreme Court of Appeal will grant Magudumana leave to appeal and, if so, what impact the final decision will have on the case where she is expected to be tried for aiding a convicted criminal to escape from lawful custody.
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