Convicted murderer and rapist Thabo Bester, along with his accomplice and lover, Doctor Nandipha Magudumana, have been captured and arrived in South Africa at 4am on Thursday.
The couple arrived at Lanseria Airport after being apprehended in Tanzania, just 10km from the Kenyan border, with multiple passports containing various identities.
Bester and Magudumana had been on the run since Bester’s escape from the Mangaung correctional facility in May 2022. A South African delegation consisting of officials from the Department of Justice and the police departed for Tanzania on Sunday to bring the fugitives back to South Africa. Zakaria Alberto, a Mozambican national who was assisting them, has also been arrested.
Magudumana is expected to face charges of defeating the ends of justice, aiding and abetting a fugitive, and murder in her first court appearance in Bloemfontein. Meanwhile, Bester has been taken to the Kgosi Mampuru prison in Pretoria.
On Wednesday, a CCTV technician contracted to a company that installs and maintains cameras at Mangaung Correctional Centre has been arrested for aiding and abetting convicted rapist and murderer Thabo Bester’s escape from the prison.
The 44-year-old man faces charges of defeating the ends of justice, aiding and abetting a convicted prisoner to escape from lawful custody, and violation of a dead body. He is also expected to appear in court on Thursday.
Justice Minister Ronald Lamola and his police counterpart, Bheki Cele, are scheduled to hold a media conference at 8am to provide further information on the capture of the fugitives.
“Minister of Police, General Bheki Cele and Justice Minister, Ronald Lamola will on Thursday, 13 April 2023, update the nation, on the progress on the deportation of convicted murderer and rapist Thabo Bester, who escaped from custody at the Mangaung Correctional facility.
“The media briefing comes five days after an official delegation from South Africa comprising of senior officials from the Police, Justice and Correctional services and Home Affairs, departed for Tanzania to meet with their counterparts and engage on the process required to bring back the fugitive and his accomplice Dr Nandipha Magudumana,” the police confirmed.
Also read: Negligence facilitated Bester’s Hollywood-style jail break
Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa.
