What was supposed to be a pretrial hearing in the case of convicted rapist and murderer Thabo Bester in the Bloemfontein high court on Wednesday turned into a “jail food and clothes complaint” hearing.
Bester and Nandipha Magudumana appeared in court with seven co-accused linked to his escape from Mangaung maximum security prison in May 2022.
Lawyer Mohamed Seedat, for Bester, said food served to his client as a diabetic on chronic medication was not suitable for him.
“The issue is if he [eats] that meal, my client is a diabetic and the food provided to him [would have] spiked his sugar levels. They have not taken that into consideration. If they had, they would've offered him food consistent with food given to someone with diabetes. He has medication which he has to take and he cannot take that because he hasn't [eaten],” he said.
POLL | Is Thabo Bester being a brat complaining about jail food and phone access?
Image: Frikkie Kapp/Gallo Images
What was supposed to be a pretrial hearing in the case of convicted rapist and murderer Thabo Bester in the Bloemfontein high court on Wednesday turned into a “jail food and clothes complaint” hearing.
Bester and Nandipha Magudumana appeared in court with seven co-accused linked to his escape from Mangaung maximum security prison in May 2022.
Lawyer Mohamed Seedat, for Bester, said food served to his client as a diabetic on chronic medication was not suitable for him.
“The issue is if he [eats] that meal, my client is a diabetic and the food provided to him [would have] spiked his sugar levels. They have not taken that into consideration. If they had, they would've offered him food consistent with food given to someone with diabetes. He has medication which he has to take and he cannot take that because he hasn't [eaten],” he said.
Thabo Bester’s diet, clothing and access to attorneys in spotlight as case resumes in high court
Seedat said Bester was also denied “phone calls” or access to his legal representatives while in prison. The most recent incident was on Tuesday.
Fashion conscious Bester also accused correctional services officers of choosing the clothes he wore to court this week.
Prosecutor advocate Amanda Bester said the issues raised by Seedat should have been directed to correctional services. Judge Joseph Mhlambi urged Seedat to raise the matters with the relevant authorities.
TimesLIVE
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