Bester launches legal bid to move from Ebongweni to Leeuwkop

Convicted murderer and rapist, Thabo Bester, has filed court papers challenging his transfer to the country’s most secure prison, the Ebongweni Super Maximum Correctional Facility in KwaZulu Natal.

Bester had been held at the Kgosi Mampuru II Correctional Centre in Pretoria, following his dramatic escape from the Mangaung Correctional Centre in 2022.

In his application, Bester is seeking to be transferred to the Leeuwkop Correctional Facility, or a comparable centre in Gauteng.

He argues that he spent three years at Kgosi Mampuru, despite constitutional provisions limiting detention at the facility to a maximum of 18 months.

Bester further claims that he was not provided with notice either before or after his transfer to Ebongweni.

The matter is expected to be heard in the High Court in Pretoria next week.

While the Department of Correctional Services maintains that the move was based on risk and threat assessments, Bester insists there were no security concerns warranting his transfer.

In court papers, he argues that he spent three years at Kgosi Mampuru without any incidents.

“It is completely impossible that a ‘security’ risk suddenly arose that necessitated his transfer on a random Sunday without prior notice,” the papers state.

Meanwhile, Correctional Services Commissioner, Samuel Thobakgale says a detailed security and threat analysis, prompted the transfer of both Bester and alleged underworld kingpin, Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala, to Ebongweni.

“We do security analysis, we do threat analysis daily. With inmates like Cat Matala and Thabo Pester, who are classified as high risk and also high profile, our security analysis and threats analysis is actually more in-depth and the results, as we interacted with the outcomes, pointed to a need for us to put them at a super maximum facility, which is, and it’s the only facility in South Africa that is Ebongweni,” Thobakgale said.

“As I’ve indicated, it is to ensure that they are safe,  to ensure that they are secured, and they can present themselves before the court when the courts expect them.”