Minister of Justice and Correctional Services Ronald Lamola during a press briefing in Pretoria on 16 March 2020. Picture: Jacques Nelles
The South African government have confirmed the arrest of convicted murder and rapist, Thabo Bester in Tanzania.
Bester, dubbed the “Facebook rapist”, was arrested on Friday night alongside his partner, Dr Nandipha Magudumana, and a Mozambican national in the East African country.
Addressing the media in a briefing on Saturday afternoon, Justice and Correctional Service Minister, Ronald Lamola, said the wanted fugitives were in custody.
“We have confirmed with all relevant authorities which include national commissioner of police and Interpol that the fugitives are being processed in the in Tanzanian criminal justice system,” he said.
Lamola indicated that the Tanzanian government has already expressed their willingness to bring Bester and Magudumana to South Africa “as speedily as possible”.
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He also said a South African delegation consisting of the Department of Justice and police officials will depart for the East African country on Sunday.
“They will be received and assisted by the office of the high commissioner in Tanzania who is representing South Africa. We are confident that we will receive maximum cooperation from our sister nation to assist us to bring these fugitives to justice and also serve their sentence, particularly the gentleman, Mr Thabo Bester.
“The level of cooperation we have received thus far from the Tanzanian authorities has been exemplary before and after the arrest,” the minister said.
Bester, Magudumana and their accomplice were spotted by authorities working closely on the case with South Africa, according to Police Minister, Bheki Cele.
Cele said the couple were found with fake passports, which were not even stamped by customs officials.
“How they moved around cannot be explained because it’s illegal… what we know at the present moment is they have several passports each and not a single one has been stamped as they were crossing [borders],” he said.
The minister revealed that the suspects were found 10 kilometres (KM) away from the Kenyan border when they were apprehended.
He further confirmed that Bester has a number of aliases.
“It’s not only Bester… at one time he is Motsepe, sometimes he is Mokoena,” adding that the Department of Home Affairs will assist in finding out his real identity.
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Later in the briefing, Lamola said Bester’s deportation from Tanzania would not be complicated as he was already a convicted criminal.
He pointed out that Tanzania can easily deport Magudumana due to her being in the country illegally.
“As you are aware there’s already a warrant of arrest issued by the South African police related to [Dr Nandipha] and also the issues related to Interpol.
“So as the authorities go to Tanzania tomorrow, they are going to look at the best possible way to quickly bring her back to South Africa to then face justice. It is a process that we believe will be doable because of the mutual cooperation that we have with Tanzania,” he said.
The minister continued to say: “Remember, there’s a Mozambican national so that also complicates the whole issue because there’s another process that needs to deal with him as a Mozambican citizen and whether there are crimes that we want him here in South Africa for.”
Last month, the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) confirmed that Bester had indeed escaped from the Mangaung Correctional Centre in Bloemfontein, Free State
The convict was believed to have died in a fire that broke out in his cell at the prison on 3 May 2022.
It, however, emerged that the DNA of the body found in the cell did not match that of Bester, who was convicted in 2012.
Police have since registered a case of murder, which is currently under investigation.
According to the autopsy report, the deceased had died as a result of blunt force trauma to the head, therefore, was already dead prior to the arson incident.
A case of escape from lawful custody was also registered with the police.
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Meanwhile, Lamola has confirmed that Magudumana helped Bester escape from prison.
“That is a charge that she will face… the police are looking at any other person who may have played a role,” he said.
The minister further said the officials from G4S, the security company which manages the Mangaung Correctional Centre, were implicated in Bester’s escape.
He added that government was considering terminating its contract with the security company.
“We believe this is the highest level of dereliction of duty by G4S, but we’ll leave the process with our lawyers to advise and guide us then we’ll be able to make a decision as to what is the best way forward in this scenario. We want to mention that this was a 25-year contract that is expiring in 2026.”
Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services will meet next week to discuss the Bester saga after it was recently shunned by G4S.
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