7 stories you need to read about Thabo Bester and his escape

The escape of “Thabo Bester” has shocked the nation, with correctional services this weekend confirming his prison break.

Bester was convicted of murder and two counts of rape after luring women via Facebook.

He escaped from the Mangaung maximum-security prison last year by setting his cell alight. A dead body was found in the room and officials announced Bester's death at the time.

However, he has since reportedly been spotted living in the lap of luxury.

Here are seven stories you need to read about the “Thabo Bester” debacle:

CORRECTIONAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT SPEAKS

After days of speculation, the correctional services department confirmed Bester's escape.

“A postmortem conducted on the body that burnt beyond recognition in cell 35 at Mangaung Correctional Centre revealed it was an adult male with blunt force trauma to his head. The postmortem report further revealed that there were no signs of smoke inhalation in the body.

“Furthermore, it uncovered that the pancreas and the spleen in the body were in the early stages of decomposition. Over and above that, the DNA sequencing with a person identified to be the mother of Bester failed to indicate a common ancestor or a match.”

Based on this, the plausible conclusion was that the body was not that of Bester.

“In line with the concession contract, two correctional services officials were appointed to conduct an investigation into the incident.”

DEAD? NAH, LIVING IN LUXURY

The Sunday Times reported how Bester had been living it up in a R12m luxury home in Hyde Park in Johannesburg’s plush northern suburbs since his escape.

As suspicions of his prison break swirled, he and his socialite girlfriend Dr Nandipha Magudumana and her two children pulled another vanishing act. 

They left a R1.5m watch on his bedside table, and a trail of destruction and headaches.

LIFE'S A LIVING HELL FOR THE 'REAL' THABO BESTER 

Meanwhile, the real Thabo Bester claims he has been living a nightmare after his identity was stolen, with police often interviewing him about his alleged involvement in dodgy dealings.

He was convicted of murder in 2010, after which he believes his impostor stole his identity.

“I was very confused about what was happening. It meant there was someone with my identity document, which had my address, committing these crimes in my name. The police were coming to my house and my neighbour’s house asking for me.”

LAUGHING BEHIND BARS

Since news of his escape, a video of Bester attending events virtually, pretending to be a wealthy businessman overseas, has gone viral.

GroundUp revealed that Bester was running multimillion-rand businesses from his prison cell. Among the scams he apparently pulled was the controversial “Women in Media” conference with the company 21st Century Media. Bester is reported to have posed as a “chairman” of the company, said to be a subsidiary of 21st Century Fox.

A video of him laughing from his prison cell as a crowd at the company's launch sang happy birthday to him was among the videos shared.

'I'M ALSO A VICTIM'

Businesswoman Phumudzo Thenga was reportedly the sole director of 21st Century Media, but said she was herself the victim of a scam.

“In 2017, someone who introduced himself as 'Tom Motsepe' made contact ... through social media platform Instagram. This person showed interest in the community work she was doing and said to be based in the UK and USA. He also said to be from the well-known Motsepe family.

“Thereafter he made various business proposals, one of them being creating 21st Century Media. The second proposal was for rolling out ARVs to disadvantaged communities through 'Dr Nandipha'.

“In summary, Tom Motsepe’s modus operandi was to pretend to be a shareholder of international brands such as 21st Century Fox, Sky Digital etc, [which is how] he hoodwinked Phumudzo into opening [one of the] purported 'local subsidiaries' of these established and well-known international brands,” Thenga said in a statement via her lawyers, Mabuza Attorneys.

'HEADS MUST ROLL'

Among the public outcry, Build One SA movement leader Mmusi Maimane said the police and correctional services should account.

“We need a new minister of police immediately. Thabo Bester held live-streams from prison, faked his death, was living large in Sandton and the government is now asking the public to help them catch him. They showed us drones on Monday — use that technology to catch this murderer,” said Maimane. 

He said justice minister Ronald Lamola and police minister Bheki Cele should hold a press briefing on how they will protect the public.

The EFF said Bester's escape was testament to the incompetence of the correctional services system, and endangered the lives of women in SA.

"How did the burnt body get into the cell?"

The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) also questioned the escape, claiming it showed management of the correctional centre tried to “brush the matter under the carpet”.

“This further raises questions as to whom the burnt body belongs, and how it found itself in cell 35. This brings to question the level of responsibility the department of correctional services (DCS) takes in monitoring, and the functionality of controllers which it appoints to ensure that contractual obligations with these private prisons are not violated in line with the prescripts of the Correctional Services Act,” Popcru spokesperson Richard Mamabolo said.

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