Thabo Bester changes lawyers as case postponed to June
Facebook rapist Thabo Bester will return to court next month after his case was postponed by the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court.
Bester made his second court appearance on Tuesday, but virtually from the Kgosi Mampuru II Correctional Centre in Pretoria.
New lawyer
It was confirmed during proceedings that Bester now has a new lawyer after his legal team withdrew from representing him.
His new lawyer, Advocate Tsoeunyane Pela, informed the court of their dissatisfaction with the virtual hearing.
Pela asked that Bester be sent to Bloemfontein and appear in court on Wednesday, so that the legal team is able to converse with him.
“We don’t request our client to be transported to court for consultation. It is the right of the client to appear in court in terms of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa under a fair trial.
“The issue we will be bringing to the court as preliminary issue requires our client to here so that should the court ask us any questions, we are able to quickly confirm, and consult with him. [This] will make the work of this court very easy,” the advocate said on Tuesday.
BREAKING #ThaboBester His new legal team says the court needs to be furnished with documentation that this man before court is Bester. The magistrate says the court has no reason to believe the man before court isn’t Bester.#DrNandipha #eNCA pic.twitter.com/U4eb3lfQ28
— Silindelo Masikane (@Sli_Masikane) May 16, 2023
Pela said he wants the court to be satisfied that the person before court was, in fact, Bester because the only evidence that the man before them was the convict was a J88 form, which a document completed by a doctor and submitted as written evidence of the injuries a patient has suffered.
But the state argued that Bester’s legal team can converse with their clients virtually.
Magistrate Motlholo Khabisi also pointed out that there was no reason for Bester to appear physically as the issue of identification was never contested during his first appearance in court.
“If a wrong person associated with the name of Thabo Bester was brought before me then that issue should have been canvased there, but it did not happen,” the magistrate said.
Due to lack of merits, the magistrate dismissed Pela’s request and postponed the matter to 20 June, for further investigation.
Bester will remain in custody until then.
In other news – DJ Maphorisa & his bae, Thuli Phongolo resolve their matter privately
South African award-winning DJ Maphorisa and his girlfriend Thuli Phongolo, have broken his silence following assault allegations leveled against him by her.
Last week, the Amapiano DJ appeared at the Randburg Magistrate’s court on a charge of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. In an unexpected move, Phongolo dropped the charge and the DJ was released on R4000 bail. Learn More
