Thabo Bester has dismissed his legal representatives and is expected to defend himself when his long-delayed prison escape trial finally gets under way in the Free State High Court next year.
The development marks another dramatic turn in a case that has been repeatedly delayed by legal challenges, prison conditions and difficulties between Bester and his legal representatives.
Bester has chosen to represent himself when the trial starts in April 2027.
Trial now scheduled for April 2027
The Free State High Court in Bloemfontein has scheduled Bester’s plea and trial proceedings for 19 April to 18 June 2027.
Judge Mareena Opperman confirmed the dates during the court’s latest case-management proceedings in August, after the matter had been postponed several times.
“The matter is then so postponed for plea and trial to 19 April 2027, up until 18 June 2027, again here in Bloemfontein in the Free State division of the High Court,” Judge Opperman said.
The trial relates to Bester’s dramatic escape from Mangaung Correctional Centre in May 2022.
Bester was serving a sentence for rape and murder when he was reported to have died after a fire in his prison cell. Investigators later established that the body found in the cell was not Bester’s and that he had escaped.
He was eventually located in Tanzania in April 2023 alongside his then-partner, celebrity doctor Nandipha Magudumana.
Why the trial has taken so long
The prison escape matter has been subject to a series of delays.
Bester and Magudumana, together with their co-accused, face charges arising from the alleged escape and the events surrounding it. These include assisting an inmate to escape, fraud, corruption, money laundering, arson, violating a corpse and defeating the ends of justice.
The prosecution alleges that Bester’s escape was carefully orchestrated and involved assistance from others, including people connected to the Mangaung Correctional Centre.
The accused have not yet had their full trial on these allegations, and the charges remain allegations until determined by the court.
Legal representation has been a recurring issue
Bester’s latest decision is not the first time his relationship with his legal representatives has broken down.
In September 2025, Advocate Lerato Moela withdrew from representing him during a pre-trial hearing. Advocate MoAfrika Wa Maila subsequently came on record as Bester’s new lawyer.
At the time, reports indicated that Bester had parted ways with several legal teams since his re-arrest in 2023.
Wa Maila told the court that lawyers could not simply remain on the matter when their client terminated their mandate.
“We don’t just withdraw, my lady; we get terminated, and we can’t force ourselves to be in court when we are terminated,” Wa Maila told Judge Lani Opperman in September 2025.
The latest decision therefore adds another chapter to a pattern of changes in Bester’s legal representation.
Prison conditions became central to the defence
The question of Bester’s access to his lawyers became particularly contentious after he was transferred to eBongweni Super Maximum Correctional Facility in Kokstad, KwaZulu-Natal.
His legal team argued that the conditions at the facility were making it difficult to consult with him and prepare for trial.
During a June 2026 pre-trial hearing, Wa Maila told the Free State High Court that Bester had allegedly been unable to properly consult with his legal team after the transfer and that his lawyers had not received the case docket.
Judge Opperman expressed concern over the repeated explanation.
“I cannot accept that a prison or a correctional centre obstructs an accused from consulting with his legal representative,” she said.
The judge added that she had never experienced such an issue in a trial and said the matter needed to be resolved rather than repeatedly raised at case-management hearings.
Bester subsequently pursued legal action concerning his prison conditions and his transfer to eBongweni.
His lawyers argued that the transfer was affecting his ability to prepare for the main escape trial.
Bester previously considered representing himself
The possibility of Bester conducting his own defence had already emerged during the dispute over his prison conditions.
In June, reports indicated that he was considering self-representation because of the difficulties his legal team said it was experiencing in consulting with him at eBongweni.
That possibility has now become a reality, with Bester expected to appear in court without lawyers when the main trial begins.
Self-representation would mean that Bester would be responsible for presenting his own defence, questioning witnesses and dealing with legal arguments during the proceedings, subject to the court’s rules and directions.
A case that has attracted intense public attention
Bester’s escape became one of South Africa’s most closely followed criminal cases after it emerged that the man authorities initially believed had died in a prison fire was alive.
The escape also drew scrutiny to the Mangaung Correctional Centre, its security arrangements and the conduct of officials and other people allegedly involved.
Bester, Magudumana and the other accused have faced a lengthy series of court appearances since their arrests and extradition-related proceedings.
Magudumana has separately challenged aspects of her arrest and removal from Tanzania, adding another layer of litigation to the broader case.
The main prison escape trial is now expected to begin almost five years after Bester disappeared from Mangaung Correctional Centre.
For the prosecution, the upcoming proceedings will be an opportunity to present its case about how the escape was allegedly planned and executed. For Bester, it will be the opportunity to challenge those allegations and present his own defence.
His decision to dismiss his lawyers means that, unless circumstances change before April, one of South Africa’s most closely watched criminal trials will see Bester facing the court without legal representation.
