Date: April 13, 2023
Convicted rapist and murderer Thabo Bester, known as the “Facebook rapist,” has been sent to the maximum-security Kgosi Mampuru prison in Pretoria[10]. Bester was at large for a year after escaping South African prison by faking his own death and was recently arrested in Tanzania[1][2].
On May 3, 2022, the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) reported that Thabo Bester had been found dead in his cell at the Mangaung private prison in Bloemfontein[3]. A mattress had been set alight in the cell in which Bester had been isolated, and a body was beneath it, burned beyond recognition[3]. However, Bester faked his death in a cell fire and escaped from prison in May 2022[8].
The police issued a press statement confirming the arrests of three people: Thabo Bester, his girlfriend Dr. Nandipha Magudumana, and Zakaria Alberto[10]. Bester wore Muslim headwear when he was arrested in Tanzania[10].
While Thabo Bester has been sent to Kgosi Mampuru prison, Nandipha Magudumana will make her first court appearance in the Bloemfontein magistrate court[10]. The outcome of Magudumana’s court appearance and her connection to Bester’s escape and subsequent arrest remain to be seen.