If this were the narrative of a movie, it wouldn’t be plausible at all. A high-profile convicted assassin was suspected of staging his demise in a fire and then fleeing the jail to remain in the open with his famous doctor girlfriend. As per a media conference by the South African Justice Minister & Minister of Police, Thabo Bester was returned to South Africa by Tanzanian officials on Thursday after being apprehended in the border town of Arusha after having reportedly fled the country. This comes as inquiries have been made in the media over the jail fire where the man was allegedly no more. With each shocking revelation, the odd story has enthralled the country and shamed South Africa by allegedly exposing management flaws at a private prison.
Thabo Bester; image credit – CNN
Thabo Bester And His Lover Are Captured
On Friday, the 35-year-old convicted assassin was taken into custody alongside his lover, Dr. Nandipha Magudumana as well as Zakaria Alberto, a citizen of Mozambique. According to South African Police Minister Bheki Cele, the group was within 10 kilometers of the Kenyan border and each member of the group had multiple unstamped passports. Magudumana was also sent back to Tanzania and charged with being an accessory. Per the Police, she was detained pending a court hearing on Thursday and will be punished with homicide, fraud, and assisting in his escape.
Thabo Bester Is Transferred Under Constant Surveillance
Bester was transferred to Pretoria’s Kgosi Mampuru Central Maximum Prison, where he would be under constant observation. Makgothi Thobakgale, the head of South Africa’s Department of Correctional Services (DCS), revealed to reporters in Cape Town that he is being watched 24 hours a day. Additionally, they are putting him in contact with a few highly qualified Correctional Services officers around-the-clock to make sure that no matter what situation he finds himself in, they will be there and there won’t be any security breaches.
People Who Helped The Escape Of Thabo Bester
Zolile Cornelius Sekeleni, 65, the father of Magudumana, and Senohe Ishmael Matsoara, 38, a former prison warden, were also apprehended and charged with aiding Bester in escaping. In a Bloemfontein court on Tuesday, the two men were accused of “conquering the principles of justice, deception, homicide, and arson.” They didn’t enter a plea, and no attorneys are listed. They must stay in detention until their following court appearance on April 17, under a judge’s order.
Thabo Bester’s Plan To Escape Prison
In 2012, Bester received a life term in jail for the assault and homicide of model Nomfundo Tyhulu. He had previously been convicted in court for assault and robbing two other women whom he attracted to his home via social media, earning the moniker “the Facebook rapist.” He was first thought to have perished in a jail fire in May of last year. However, after local investigative site, GroundUp’s reporting cast doubt on the official claim made by South African prison officials that Bester had been discovered lifeless in his cell, the story started to fall apart in November. Authorities later concluded that Bester was not the burned body discovered in his cell and that he had passed away before the fire started.
