On Monday (3/7), Free State prosecutor Sello Matlhoko told Magistrate Estelle de Lange the state is not opposed to Thabang Mier being released on bail. 

Matlhoko asked De Lange to set the bail amount for Mier at R10 000.  He also asked that strict bail conditions should be set for him. Mier, an employee of the British company G4S, faces one charge, count 8, which is a Schedule 1 offence.  

Mier, now accused 10 in the Bester escape saga, was arrested on Monday (26/6), alongside accused 11 Thabang Joel Makhetha, and 12 Moeketsi Ramolula.

The case against him was postponed to 8 August 2023 for further investigations. Ramolula and Makhethe face a Schedule 5 offence and the state opposes their bail.

De Lange has since postponed the matter against the other co-accused to Tuesday (11/7) for bail application.

On Tuesday (27/6), the national police spokesperson, Athlenda Mathe, said the three men were arrested on Monday in Botshabelo and Bloemfontein.

So far, 12 people have been arrested for allegedly aiding Bester to escape from cell 35 in Broadway, at the Mangaung Correctional Centre, on 3 May 2022.

The other accused in the matter include accused number 1 Senohe Matsoara, 2 Zolile Sekeleni, 3 Teboho James Lipholo, 4 Nandipha Magudumana, 5 Bester, 6 Motanyane John Masukela, 7 Teiho Frans Makhotsa, 8 Nastassja Jansen, and 9 Zanda Moyo.

Only Magudumana and Moyo are yet to apply for bail. During his last court appearance, Moyo abandoned his right to apply for bail and Magudumana reserved her right to apply for bail in one of her previous appearances.

Three of the accused – Matsoara, Lipholo, and Makhotsa – have now approached the Free State High Court to try and overturn  Khabisi's verdict to deny them bail.

Lawyers representing the accused, including Kagisho Moruri, argued that Khabisi errored when he ruled that the applicants were flight risks, that they would interfere with witnesses, and that there would be public outrage if they were to be released on bail. 

Judge Joseph Mhlambi has reserved his much-anticipated judgment. Bester and Magudumana were arrested in Tanzania. It's said that after he escaped from G4S, Bester had a lavish lifestyle in Johannesburg. But after being re-arrested in Tanzania, he and his girlfriend were both brought back to South Africa.

Bester was sent to the Kgosi Mampuru Maximum Correctional Centre, while Magudumana was brought to Bloemfontein where she appeared in court on 13 April 2023. She remains in custody in Kroonstad.

The suspects are set to appear in the Bloemfontein Magistrate's Court on 8 August 2023.

OFM News