Thabo Bester fails in urgent attempt to secure prison move

JOHANNESBURG - Thabo Bester's urgent application for a prison transfer has been struck off the roll.

Bester was applying to be transferred back to Gauteng.

He has been moved to eBongweni Super Maximum Correctional Facility in Kokstad.

Bester’s lawyers said moving him to a maximum-security prison in KwaZulu-Natal is problematic.

They say the distance makes it difficult for them to meet with their client and plan for his upcoming trial.

                                   READ: Bester calls Kokstad prison transfer a 'sham'

However, the Correctional Services Department defended Bester’s transfer to eBongweni Super Maximum Correctional Facility.

The department says if this affects preparations for his trial, the matter can be raised during pre-trial next month.

Bester was involved in one of South Africa's dramatic prison escapes from the Mangaung Correctional Centre in 2022.

The plot saw him fake his own death and disappear, only to be recaptured in Tanzania in 2023.

He was extradited with his partner, Nandipha Magudumana, once a celebrated medical doctor.