-Staff Writer | Thurs, 4 December 2025
The convicted Facebook rapist and murderer Thabo Bester is expected to appear in the Free State High Court on Friday alongside his co-accused, including his partner Dr Nandipha Magudumana.
The group, which includes former employees of the controversial British-owned security company G4S faces a range of charges, including aiding and abetting an escape, defeating the ends of justice, fraud, corruption, arson, and violating a corpse.
It remains unclear whether the pre-trial proceedings will continue on Friday. This follows Dr Magudumana’s ongoing legal challenge at the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA), where she argues that her return to South Africa from Tanzania was an extradition disguised as a deportation.
Case management for the pre-trial was expected to begin earlier this year but was postponed for several reasons, including Bester’s repeated changes of legal representation. Since his first appearance in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court, Bester has changed lawyers at least four times, delaying progress in the matter.
Bester will appear in court with Dr Magudumana, Senohe Matsoara, Teboho James Lipholo, Tieho France Makhotsa, and Zolile Sekeleni.
The accused are charged in connection with Bester’s audacious escape from the Mangaung Correctional Centre in May 2022. It is alleged that after fleeing lawful custody, Bester and Magudumana lived a lavish lifestyle in Johannesburg before leaving the country. The pair were arrested in Arusha, Tanzania, in April 2023 following an international manhunt.
Investigations later revealed that the burnt body found in Bester’s cell was that of Katlego Bereng, used as a decoy to stage Bester’s death. Testimony before court indicated that Bereng’s body was brought into the prison on 29 April 2022 by Matsoara, who allegedly entered the facility without being searched. The body was reportedly transported in a hired vehicle arranged by Sekeleni, Dr Magudumana’s father.
According to the state, the body was placed in Cell 35 in the Broadway section, where Matsoara and Lipholo set it alight to facilitate Bester’s escape.
A state witness also testified that on the night of the escape, Bester was given a G4S uniform and walked out of the facility with Lipholo. Lipholo was allegedly promised R2.5 million for his involvement but ultimately received only R40 000, paid in two transactions — R30 000 into his wife’s account in April 2022 and R10 000 into his own the following month.
News Junction (Gold Standard)
