Thabo Bester claims items worth R30m stolen from him, case ...

Thabo Bester told the Bloemfontein Magistrate's Court on Tuesday that items to the tune of around R30 million went missing when he and his lover, Dr Nandipha Magudumana, were arrested in Tanzania in April.

Bester and 11 co-accused were in the dock in connection with his escape from the Mangaung prison last year. His cell was set alight and officials believed that the body found inside it after the blaze was extinguished was his.

DNA tests later revealed that the body was that of Katlego Bereng.

The State alleges that Bereng's body was smuggled into the prison and put in Bester's cell, allowing the convicted rapist and murderer to escape.

On Tuesday morning, Magudumana and her co-accused father, Zolile Sekeleni, embraced in the dock but her feelings between her and Bester were most notable.

READ | Thabo Bester's lawyers recuse themselves, more arrests expected in prison escape case

They whispered to each other, held hands and exchanged loving looks.

It was their first meeting since their arrest.

Both have complained about inhumane treatment from the police. 

Magudumana said she had been handcuffed in the back of the police van on Tuesday morning, with no way of holding herself up as the speeding vehicle took turns and the driver applied brakes during the two-hour journey from Bizzah Makhate Correctional Centre in Kroonstad.

Bester claimed he was handcuffed for 23 hours a day inside his cell.

But the big shock was his claim that high-end goods worth a whopping R30 million that belonged to him had gone missing.

The items included the following:

He also claimed the following cash amounts disappeared:

Bester opened a case at the Lanseria police station. 

The escaping case has been postponed to 11 October for further investigation.