From left: Joel Makhetha, Moeketsi Ramolula and Thabang Mier are the new accused in the Thabo Bester case. Photo by Joseph Mokoale
- A former G4S employee linked to the Thabo Bester prison escape was granted bail of R10 000 in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
- Thabang Mier and two other former employees briefly appeared in court after their arrest last week.
- The bail applications for Joel Lekhari Makhetha and Moeketsi April Ramolula were postponed to 11 July.
One of the three former G4S employees recently arrested for their alleged role in Thabo Bester’s prison break was granted bail of R10 000 in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
Thabang Mier was granted bail on condition he did not communicate or threaten State witnesses or leave the district of Mangaung without notifying the investigating officer, and report to the Kopanong police station between 08:00 and 16:00 every week.
Mier is facing a charge of assisting an inmate to escape.
The court postponed the bail applications for two other former G4S employees – Joel Lekhari Makhetha and Moeketsi April Ramolula – to 11 July.
The court heard Makhetha and Ramolula faced Schedule 5 offences.
READ | Three more G4S guards linked to Thabo Bester’s escape appear in court
They face three charges – assisting an inmate to escape, violation of a body, and corruption.
On Monday, the court also heard Ramolula terminated his legal aid representative and appointed a private attorney.
The trio, aged between 37 and 47, were arrested last week at their homes in Botshabelo and Bloemfontein.
This brought the total number of people apprehended in the Bester saga to 12.
Bester is on trial, along with several others, for his escape from Mangaung Prison in May last year.
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