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LIVE | Thabo Bester escape: State drops murder charges against accused
Zolile Sekeleni, Magudumana's father, has been granted bail of R10 000. He is confined to his home jurisdiction of Port Edward.- Alex PatrickMagudumana cuts a dejected figure in the dock. Her head is bowed, unlike her three co-accused, who have generally been looking straight forward.
She has her fists tightly clenched.The State has requested the case be postponed to 3-4 May for bail applications to be heard.The prosecutor tells the court Magudumana has no previous convictions.- Sheldon MoraisThe State says it has agreed with the lawyer for accused number 2 that he be granted bail of R10 000. Accused 2 is Magudumana's father, Zolile Sekeleni.The prosecutor is dealing with the State's position on bail for the various accused.The prosecutor is asking that Magudumana's identity be confirmed as he has not seen her. She lifts her mask and her hood, revealing her face for the first time since her appearance in court last week.The State's prosecutor has asked the court for guidance on whether Magudumana's face should remain covered during proceedings now that court is in session. At the same time, it appears the State and the defence teams have agreed on a date for the case to be postponed to.Magudumana can be seen wiping away tears. She is wearing a mask over her nose, mouth and chin, obscuring her features. A law enforcement officer asks Magudumana to swap positions with Teboho Lipholo, as the accused must sit on the order they are listed on the indictment.The accused have now arrived in court. Nandipha Magudumana's father can be seen talking to his daughter, seemingly comforting her. Magudumana is wearing a blue hooded sports jacket with the hood pulled over her head.Getting ready for the accuseds’ arrival. We believe the woman on the left in grey is Nandipha's mom. Her sister is next to me and is calling for Nandipha"nandi nandi" and blew kisses. She called"baba" and her father looked back at her and smiled.Court is in session. The court will hear other matters first before the Thabo Bester escape case sits.Matsoara, Sekeleni, Lipholo and Magudumana are appearing in court on Monday morning. It's understood some of the accused may launch bail applications.The accused are: Former G4S guard Senohe Matsoara, Magudumana’s father Zolile Sekeleni, IIS employee Teboho Lipholo, Nandipha Magudumana and Thabo Bester.Outside the court is a large contingent of media. There are more reporters here today than for the first three appearances last week.Journalists are setting up for the possible bail application of the four people accused of helping Thabo Bester, accused number five, break out of the Mangaung Correctional Centre on 3 May 2022.A brother and sister who always wondered what happened to their childhood friend"Robert", are now struggling to come to terms with the horror that the little boy they knew, became the man now known as the infamous"Facebook Rapist". The pair only made the connection recently after childhood images of convicted rapist and murderer Thabo Bester found their way into the media.Thabo Bester saga: Police fail to collect evidence of Magudumana's Bloemfontein trips Nandipha Magudumana, who is facing charges of murder and aiding Thabo Bester's escape, used Bester's alias to book accommodation in Bloemfontein and Ballito in the weeks leading up to the escape. More than R120 000 was spent on these bookings, GroundUp reported. The police were informed of an invoice for a luxury hotel in Bloemfontein over a week ago. The invoice was left behind in the Hyde Park property where Magudumana and Bester were staying. The police raided the house, but didn't enter a section of the property with the invoice and Magudumana's diary. As of Friday, the police had not sent anyone to pick up the invoice and diary, nor had they contacted the hotel in question.
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