Thabo Bester seeks same treatment as other accused persons
This is not Bester’s first attempt at relaxing his prison conditions.
Convicted murderer and rapist Thabo Bester has not stopped his fight for relaxed prison conditions.
In his latest application in the Johannesburg High Court, he reportedly seeks to compel the Department of Correctional Services to relax his prison conditions.
He seeks contact visits with his family and legal representatives, reports City Press.
In his court papers, Bester reportedly argues that his classification as a sentenced prisoner is unconstitutional and seeks to be reintegrated into conditions consistent with humane standards, together with other remanded accused persons awaiting trial.
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“I respectfully submit that the department, together with the National Prosecuting Authority, never respected my rights as an accused person by law in terms of the charges being levelled against me and for which I was arrested,” the court papers, seen by City Press, read.
Thabo Bester application
This is not Bester’s first attempt at relaxing his prison conditions.
Last year, he filed an application at the Free State High Court challenging the alleged inhumane conditions at the Kgosi Mampuru II C-Max prison, where he is being held.
He was moved there after allegedly escaping from the Mangaung Correctional Centre in May 2022. He was deported from Tanzania in April 2023.
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In this application, he informed Judge Cagney Musi that his rights were being violated at Kgosi Mampuru C-Max Prison.
He alleged he was being placed in solitary confinement for 23 hours per day, in a room with a small window. He said it impacts his mental health and well-being.
‘Maximum classified inmate’
The Department of Correctional Services has previously dismissed Bester’s claims that he is receiving ill-treatment at the prison.
Spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said the treatment Bester received at the prison was for a maximum classified inmate.
“Everyone who is incarcerated, the state is responsible for that person. Every correctional official represents the state. If you’re housed at C-Max, you’re a maximum classified inmate, and Thabo Bester is that,” Nxumalo told eNCA.
“Thabo Bester enjoys the same privilege as other inmates. He enjoys one hour of exercise, he can take a shower, and he can consult.”
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