The so-called Facebook rapist Thabo Bester, now known to have escaped from the Mangaung correctional facility over 10 months ago, is being sought be police.
This after the Department of Correctional services on Saturday admitted that the convicted murderer did in fact escape from prison, after months of investigative work by the publication GroundUp.
MEDIA STATEMENT| DCS INVESTIGATION ON THABO BESTER pic.twitter.com/R4iuEwSVxj
— Ministry of Justice and Correctional Services 🇿🇦 (@Min_JCS) March 25, 2023
Ground Up investigative journalist Oliver Meth told Newzroom Afrika that they have evidence that high-ranking politicians and three prison officials were involved in Bester’s escape.
Ground Up investigative journalist Oliver Meth says circumstantial evidence proves that two high-ranking politicians and three prison officials are involved in the prison escape of murderer and rapist Thabo Bester.
Watch: https://t.co/Zuc3ssdkoz pic.twitter.com/a1LzIuJP3l
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) March 26, 2023
Meth also says GroundUp has been attempting to share information with the SAPS, but they have been stonewalled, and it may already be too late to track him down, as it is believed Bester has 4 false passports and has been planning an elaborate escape with his customary law wife Dr. Nandipha Magudumana.
Bester was seen shopping with Magudumana and her daughter in a Woolworths in Sandton in June 2022, almost two months after the prison cell fire in which Bester was thought to have died.
GroundUp has been attempting to share information we have with SAPS (without divulging sources). But when we tried to find out from @SAPoliceService who we should send our information to, we were told to share our information with the Crimewatch line. https://t.co/xxcVtTVepC
— Oliver Meth (they/them) (@oliver_meth) March 25, 2023
Police commissioner Fannie Masemola says they are actively searching for Bester, and also the murder of another man, who was found burnt in Bester’s prison cell, and acted as a decoy for Bester’s escape.
A special task team of Gauteng and Free State police and crime intelligence is investigating the prison escape of murderer and rapist Thabo Bester. #eNCA #DStv403 pic.twitter.com/xC0jmecKzf
— eNCA (@eNCA) March 26, 2023
SAPS is investigating 2 cases into the Mangaung prison escape incident. One of murder&another of escape from lawful custody. A dedicated team led by Organised Crime Investigations are on the ground to apprehend Thabo Bester and all persons of interest who facilitated his escape. pic.twitter.com/wf4mkqFZk7
— Athlenda Mathe (@AthlendaM) March 26, 2023
ALSO READ: GROUNDUP: Government admits Thabo Bester has escaped
An autopsy report revealed that the charred remains found at Mangaung prison, from where “Facebook rapist” Thabo Bester escaped, showed signs of blunt force trauma before the prison caught fire. This was first reported in an investigation by GroundUp.
The DNA sequencing with a person identified as the mother of Bester failed to indicate a common ancestor or a match.
Police spokesperson, Brigadier Motantsi Makhele, said the autopsy report revealed that the deceased had died as a result of blunt force trauma to the head, and was already dead, prior to the arson incident.
Speaking to News24, DCS spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said the body found in Cell 35 has yet to be identified.
He said: “All other inmates are accounted for except for Thabo Bester. The manhunt is on. We need to find Thabo Bester.”
National police commissioner Fannie Masemola has appealed to the public for patience and that detectives be allowed the space to conduct a thorough investigation towards building a watertight case that can ultimately stand up in court.
“Placing undue pressure on the investigators and demanding blow-by-blow updates at this stage, has the potential to jeopardise the investigation,” added Masemola.
Bester was dubbed the “Facebook rapist”, as he used the social media platform to lure women, saying international modelling scouts were interested in them.
He would then rape and rob them at knifepoint, murdering at least one of his victims. In 2012, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for these crimes.
High profile commentators on Twitter have not been holding back with their reaction, questioning why it took officials over 10 months to realise that the burnt body in Bester’s cell is not him, and then to concede that he escaped.
We need a new minister of police immediately!
Thabo Bester held livestreams from prison, faked his death, was living large in Sandton and the gvt is now asking the public to help them catch him.
They showed us drones on Monday. Use that technology to catch this murderer! pic.twitter.com/IYGVbp4wyJ
— Mmusi Maimane (@MmusiMaimane) March 25, 2023
Shame on you @GovernmentZA @SAPoliceNews , lashing at public & media a week ago..not caring that a serial rapist & murderer was on the loose for 10 months! In country that is so violent to women & children! Sleeping on the job & now coming here like you were always investigating. https://t.co/6rVzWsqEG1
— Redi Tlhabi (@RediTlhabi) March 25, 2023
With News24
