Judge rebukes Thabo Bester over ‘half-baked’ application as trial date is set

Thabo Bester's attempts to again address the Free State High Court and bring a "half-baked" application relating to issues around his access to legal representation in prison fell flat when fed-up judge Cagney Musi refused to hear both.

Bester was back in the high court for a third attempt at a pre-trial hearing after previous sittings had to be postponed, mostly as a result of issues around legal representation.

A trial date was set for February 10 2025, and all the legal representatives for the accused, barring Bester's, indicated they were ready for trial.

His girlfriend Dr Nandipha Magudumana's advocate Frans Dlamini raised the possibility of her application to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) being heard before the trial begins early next year. This may affect her readiness for trial, Dlamini said. 

In October last year the SCA decided it would hear Magudumana’s appeal against a Free State High Court judgment that found South African courts retain criminal jurisdiction over her.

If she succeeds with her appeal, it could mean she would escape a criminal trial in South Africa.

"I want to bring it to your attention that [Magudumana] has already filed the papers [and] the matter might be heard at any time before the end of 2024. Which, in my own way of thinking, may also have a bearing on the issue of the trial," Dlamini argued.

Despite this, Dlamini insisted he had done "everything in preparation" for the matter to go to trial.

Musi and advocate Amanda Bester, for the state, conceded that while the outcome of the application may affect the trial date, it would only be where Magudumana is concerned and not her co-accused.

"If the chances are the matter will be heard in the SCA during the fourth term [October-December 2024], let's rather wait for then and if, for any reason, you can get an indication it will be heard in the second term and after the date you've tentatively arranged, we can always arrange for this matter to be postponed to a date further down," Musi said.

All the accused, barring Bester and his advocate Lerato Moela, were excused to allow the court to deal with Moela's application on Bester's right to access his legal representation at Kgosi Mampuru, where he is being held.

Musi told Moela: "The application, as I informed you, is not ripe for hearing as things are, because you've indicated you'd like to consult with your client and thereafter file a replying affidavit."

He indicated the respondents, who all had the same legal counsel, were prepared to "take a pragmatic approach and have the matter argued as soon as it is ripe" despite the flaws contained in Bester's application.

This fell on deaf ears as Moela spent time trying to raise issues regarding which court would hear the matter and whether it was a civil or criminal matter. 

After some back and forth, Musi told him: "I am not going to make a ruling in this matter [based] on a half-baked application at this stage. That is how simple it is, the case is not ripe for me to make a ruling".

Musi also shut down Bester's attempts to address the court, raising his hand and telling him: "No, you may not speak, you have a legal representative."

After trying to persist, Moela agreed to ventilate the matter "at the opportune time".

The matter was postponed to February.

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