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Mail & Guardian
thabo besterlatest news & developments

Seeking to profit from privatising prisons misses the point 

The only evidence Muller presents that “Prisons abroad are being run efficiently and humanely with much clearer accountability” are the examples of the GEO company and the…

Mangaung Correctional Centre.
Image Credits :
G4S Correction Services

Can prisons be profitable real estate?

Prisons are assets with huge demand and consume a large portion of public capital

In line: M&G Cartoonist Carlos Amato recently published his first book-length collection titled This is Wild. Photo: Supplied

Carlos Amato: Drawing the madness of our times

Political cartoonist Carlos Amato reflects on satire, sensitivity and why South Africa remains one of the last frontiers of free cartooning

Screenshots: Thabo Bester and Dr Nandipha Magudumana in court after they were caught in Tanzania. Photos: Netflix

Nothing new under the sun in Netflix’s Beauty and the Bester

Netflix’s Beauty and the Bester retells a scandal already splashed across headlines — but does it add insight or merely feed obsession?

Sport, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie. Photo: Delwyn Verasamy

Spinning out of control: McKenzie’s formula for disaster

SA’s sport minister is speeding towards Formula One glory — never mind the potholes, power grid or the fiscal cliff

Nandipha Magudumana at the Bloemfontein Magistrates’ Court in August 2023. (Archive photo: Becker Semela)

Nandipha Magudumana to appeal her extradition on Thursday

She will argue in the Supreme Court of Appeal that her constitutional rights were violated through her ‘forced return’ to South Africa

Thabo Bester appears at Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court on August 08, 2023 in Bloemfontein, South Africa. (Photo by Frikkie Kapp/Gallo Images via Getty Images)

Mchunu confirms Thabo Bester was detained and then released while he was on the run

Convicted rapist and murderer Thabo Bester showed police officers a fraudulent identity document after being apprehended for speeding in July 2022

The pre-trial proceedings on Thabo Bester’s prison escape have been postponed to next week. (Photo by Gallo Images/Frikkie Kapp)

Pre-trial proceedings into Thabo Bester’s prison escape delayed again

The case has been postponed to 31 July for two of the accused to get legal representation and for Bester to consult his lawyer This content is restricted to registered users and…

Convicted rapist and murderer Thabo Bester. (Photo by Frikkie Kapp/Gallo Images via Getty Images)

Thabo Bester asks for a death sentence in courtroom outburst

The convicted rapist and murderer represented himself in his prison escape case at the Free State high court, after his fifth attorney withdrew from the matter

Thabo Bester. Photo by Gallo Images/Frikkie Kapp

No sign of accountability for Thabo Bester escape

Promises by MPs to call further witnesses and to produce a report for debate in the National Assembly have not materialised

The escape of a convicted criminal of Bester’s profile should serve as a wake-up call, urging us to address systemic weaknesses and demand accountability from those responsible for maintaining the safety and well-being of our communities.
(Frikkie Kapp/Gallo Images via Getty Images)

Justice delayed is justice denied: The sorry state of South Africa’s crime and justice system

The upcoming elections are a vital opportunity to return safety and equality to our communities

The uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party and the African Transformation Movement (ATM) have called for members of the judiciary to undergo lifestyle audits.

We increasingly need the courts to defend justice

Online news articles in September were dominated by references to courts – cadre deployment, contempt, Busisiwe Mkhwebane, Eskom, corruption, Makhanda high court

Dr Nandipha Magudumana at a previous court appearance. Photo by Gallo Images/Frikkie Kapp

‘Flight risk’ Nandipha Magudumana denied bail

The court took into account the fact that Magudumana supplied false information regarding her address of residence in April

Dr Nandipha Magudumana at a previous court appearance. Photo by Gallo Images/Frikkie Kapp

Court dismisses Dr Nandipha’s application for leave to appeal

Magudumana had asked the court to declare her arrest in Tanzania and extradition to South Africa unlawful

Joel Makhetha and his lawyer Tshepo Thusi at the Bloemfontein Magistrates Court on Tuesday, where Makhetha was granted bail of R10,000. Photo: by Becker Semela

State expects to call about 18 witnesses in Bester escape case

To date, 12 people stand accused in the escape saga and are expected to appear together in court on 8 August

The escape of a convicted criminal of Bester’s profile should serve as a wake-up call, urging us to address systemic weaknesses and demand accountability from those responsible for maintaining the safety and well-being of our communities.
(Frikkie Kapp/Gallo Images via Getty Images)

Bester case: court grants bail to suspended prison officer

Two other accused will return to court on 11 July for formal bail applications

Dr Nandipha Magudumana at a previous court appearance. Photo by Gallo Images/Frikkie Kapp

How Dr Nandipha betrayed the notion of a ‘good doctor’

A respectful, honourable medic will uphold the trust that is bestowed on them by opting out of prioritising personal interests over the best interests of the public

Straight talk: Cyril Ramaphosa (right) and other African leaders told both sides in Ukraine to end the conflict urgently. Photo: Yan Dobronosov/Getty

Cyril flies the peace flag but the Chopin Contingent gets grounded

Warsaw and Pretoria appear to be poles apart when it comes to the war between Russia and Ukraine

Xanda Moyo, a Zimbabwean, face charges in connection to the prison break of rapist and murderer Bester. Photo: Supplied

Thabo Bester saga: suspect number 9 appears in court

Xanda Moyo, a Zimbabwean, face charges in connection to the prison break of rapist and murderer Bester

Dr Nandipha Magudumana at a previous court appearance. Photo by Gallo Images/Frikkie Kapp

Judge rejects Dr Nandipha’s urgent bid for freedom

But the state made mistakes and almost lost the case