Convicted murderer and 'Facebook rapist' Thabo Bester proved to be a master of disguise using various aliases to pull off elaborate scams, with his alleged accomplice girlfriend, Dr Nandipha Mogudumana. Images via Twitter, Instagram @drnandipha and GroundUp.
The Thabo Bester Story: The Facebook rapist, the Celebrity Doctor and the Escape from Cell 35 is based on Marecia Damons and Daniel Steyn’s gritty journalistic investigation which exposed the convicted Facebook rapist and murderer’s daring escape from Bloemfontein’s Mangaung Correctional Centre in May 2022.
The GroundUp News journalists were awarded the 2023 Sanef Nat Nakasa Award for Media Integrity for their series of articles which thrust the sensational Bester saga into the public limelight and compelled authorities to finally take action.
Their investigation provided compelling evidence that the charred body found in Bester’s prison cell was not his, contradicting the official denials from the Department of Correctional Services and G4S, the company responsible for the security at the privately-run prison.
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The book – which is set for release on 27 October – details the elaborate plot of Bester’s escape. It involved faking his death through placing a body decoy in his cell and setting it alight.
It is alleged his accomplice and girlfriend, Nandipha Magudumana, smuggled the body of Katlego Bereng into the prison with the help of several prison officials, who are now on trial along with Bester and the disgraced former doctor.
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The book follows the fascinating trail of the investigation, which reveals how Bester ran a business, scamming celebrities while in prison. The online publication also broke the news of the first sighting of Bester in Sandton City’s Woolworths while on a shopping trip with Magudumana.
The baffling relationship between Bester and Magudumana – as well as their alleged various scams while living it up in a luxury property – is also one of the hot topics in the book.
The GroundUp reports contributed to the arrest of the couple in Tanzania in April, nearly a year after Bester’s grand prison escape.
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Taking to Instagram, Damons teased the book cover along with a statement that the book will expose the prison escape and everything that has come to light since.
The Thabo Bester Story: The Facebook rapist, the Celebrity Doctor and the Escape from Cell 35 will be available at all major bookstores nationwide.
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