‘Dodgy cops’ let Thabo Bester go after prison escape

The massive manhunt for Thabo Bester could have been over a lot quicker and quieter if it wasn’t for alleged crooked cops in Laingsburg, Western Cape.

Bester, who was initially convicted of murder and two counts of rape after luring women via Facebook, was serving a life sentence when he escaped from the Mangaung maximum-security prison in 2022 by setting his cell alight.

A body was found in his cell and officials announced Bester’s death at the time, but he was later spotted living a life of luxury.

The ‘TV boss’ who bribed his way out

He was eventually recaptured in Tanzania in April 2023, but according to City Press could have been nabbed much earlier at a roadblock in Laingsburg in August 2022.

ALSO READ: WATCH: A year since manhunt saw Bester and Magudumana return from Tanzania

Its sources said the wanted man tried to talk his way out of not having a driving licence by saying he was a TV boss for Mzansi Magic’s Gomora on his way to a shoot.

Allegedly recognising it was Bester, the traffic officers reportedly played along and arrested him. Once in custody, the officers explained the situation and requested two policemen to go with them to verify Bester’s ID documents with Home Affairs.

ALSO READ: Thabo Bester’s ‘non-existence’ shows exactly why SA isn’t trusted internationally

After it was proven fake, the officers returned to find Bester was gone. It was alleged that Bester had bribed officers at the station to let him go on a warning.

Upon his release, he was ordered to appear at the Laingsburg magistrate’s court but never did so.

“The incident angered the police hierarchy because they believe that his arrest at the Laingsburg roadblock might have saved the country [a great deal of trouble]. The scandal exposed both the police and prison officials as [corrupt] amateurs, because, after escaping from jail, Bester ran free for a year,” the paper’s source said.

An internal departmental investigation is currently underway, said police on the matter.

‘Life’ in prison with Thabo Bester

Investigations into Bester’s escape from the Mangaung maximum-security prison unearthed several other shocking practices at the prison during his time there.

These included prison guards prostituting themselves for between R1 000 and R1 500- which Bester was alleged to have made use of- and a ‘boy-wife’ movement to organise sex between prisoners.

In a leaked document compiled by the Department of Correctional Services (DCS), Bester was reportedly found to pretty high up in the syndicate, which was believed to also include a senior prison manager.

A plot to poison Bester’s former cellmate

The document allegedly also unearthed “a poisoning campaign to take out offenders who allegedly ‘saw things’ up to and leading to the escape” and a plot to allegedly poison Bester’s former cellmate Zwelinzima Nquru after he shared his suspicions that the conman may not be dead.

“I was approached by a G4S security manager in June 2022 [a month after the escape] who gave me a blue substance in a bag. He told me to put it in the food of prisoner Zwelinzima Nquru,” an inmate, who was later removed from the prison, told the paper.

ALSO READ: Money talked and Thabo Bester walked: Witness reveals insider info

The department confirmed such a report but said it could not investigate it further.