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Convicted murderer and serial rapist Thabo Bester appears in court.
The High Court in Johannesburg has dismissed with costs an application by convicted murderer and rapist,Thabo Bester, seeking to have his incarceration declared unlawful. Bester wants to be reclassified as a remand detainee rather than a sentenced prisoner.
His argument was based on claims that the Department of Correctional Services had already deemed him guilty of escape before the Bloemfontein High Court could rule on the matter.
He insists that his continued solitary confinement is unlawful.
In 2012, Bester was convicted and sentenced for murder and rape, leading to his incarceration. However, he escaped from the Mangaung Correctional Facility in 2022 and was apprebnhended in Tanzania the following year.
The court has upheld that Bester remains a sentenced offender. It found that his argument, asserting that he should be presumed innocent of escape until proven guilty, is without merit.
Additionally, the court ruled that his classification and detention as a sentenced offender are constitutional. It concluded that his application was not urgent.
VIDEO | Bester pleads his case in court:
