Court withdraws charges against John Masukela in Thabo Bester escape case
Image: File
Charges against accused 5 in the Thabo Bester escape case, John Masukela, who is a former G4S employee, have been officially withdrawn.
This revelation emerged during a court session where the State Prosecutor announced the decision, stating: "I am going to withdraw the case against one of the accused. I think we can excuse him, and he can go in peace, and that is accused number five, John Masukela."
Bester and his eight co-accused appeared before the Bloemfontein High Court for a pre-trial hearing over charges linked to his 2022 prison escape.
The group is facing charges including fraud, corruption, aiding an escape, violating a corpse, and defeating the ends of justice.
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Bester and his partner, Dr Nandipha Magudumana, were arrested in Tanzania following his 2022 escape from Mangaung Prison.
Magudumana recently approached the Constitutional Court, where she is also challenging the legality of her arrest and deportation.
Meanwhile, Advocate Lerato Moela, representing Bester, has requested more time to prepare after the judge instructed him to consult his client after he told the court he might not see the trial through due to financial challenges.
"If I may address My Lady on what has caused the delays is that there is an application that is pending dealing with Section 35 on accused number 7. What he is seeking is conducive consultation. There is video footage in the form of a USB that needs to be viewed. What he requires is that he be granted access to this."
The judge slammed the delays in the matter after Magudumana's father, Zolile Sekeleni, stated that he does not have a legal representative after Legal Aid allegedly rejected his application for representation in January.
"I will have to have a definite something. You can look at this court; there are so many role players who are affected. The administration of justice is affected. So, I cannot go on a maybe. We must either start on the 21st of July or we must make alternative arrangements. The responsibility of finding a legal representative lies with you. I could have attended to other cases. I can't work with this uncertainty," the judge said.
Sekeleni indicated that he was not aware of the process to follow to appeal the rejection by Legal Aid, adding that he cannot afford legal fees.
"I applied for legal aid, and my application was rejected. It was told I can't get a lawyer, even though I explained that I do not have the funds to pay for a lawyer. My Lord, I was not aware of the process I needed to follow to appeal the Legal Aid rejection. I only learnt of the process now. The person who was assisting me with the process told me he would introduce me to a lawyer. I only got the response late because there was no clear communication, which has resulted in delays," he said.
The pre-trial was postponed to July 21.
siyabonga.sithole@inl.co.za
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