“Facebook rapist” and murderer Thabo Bester's return to South Africa after months on the run has been met with celebrations by some people and fears he may again escape.
Bester and his lover Dr Nandipha Magudumana were arrested in Tanzania last week, 10km from the Kenyan border. The couple was arrested with a Mozambican who allegedly aided them in their run from authorities.
They arrived at Lanseria airport in Gauteng in the early hours of Thursday under police guard.
Bester will be under 24/7 surveillance at Kgosi Mampuru II prison in Pretoria while Magudumana will appear in a Bloemfontein court on Thursday.
While some people celebrated the arrest and return of the fugitives, others feared he would escape again. A few said South African officials were taking the credit for work by Tanzanian police.
Senior police sources close to the case told Sunday Times Bester and Magudumana were arrested by “sheer chance” at a routine police roadblock on the road to the Kenya border.
“We were not looking for the couple in that country because our intelligence informed us they were either in Zimbabwe or Mozambique,” one of the sources said.
Patriotic Alliance leader and ex-convict turned politician, Gayton McKenzie, said the nation should brace itself for more “weird” revelations in the case.
“The only thing harder than escaping from an ultra maximum security prison is bringing in a dead body from the outside. Do you know how many manned gates you pass in jail to reach the cells where prisoners live?
“To pull this escape off, at least 30 people had to be involved. Every former prisoner I speak to agrees. Who is Thabo Bester or what does he know to be able to compromise so many people? His manner of arrest shows he didn’t have crazy money. Brace for more weird revelations,” McKenzie said.
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