Pretoria – In a bizarre twist of events, convicted murderer and rapist Thabo Bester, also know as the Facebook rapist who mysteriously burned to death in a prison where he was held, was apparently spotted shopping in Sandton City two months after his death.
He was dubbed the Facebook rapist because of how he used the social media platform to lure his victims, normally young women in their teens, offering them modelling contracts, before he raped them.
On May 3, 2022, the Department of Correctional Services released a statement saying that Bester was found dead in his single cell at the Mangaung Correctional Centre in Bloemfontein.
However, the department failed to explain how the notorious rapist mysteriously set himself alight and burned to ashes while he was locked in a solitary cell.
In a recent move, one of his alleged victims by the name of Keabetswe Khutsoane posted on her Twitter page saying she had been sent pictures of someone who she believes is Bester shopping in Sandton with a woman and her children.
Confirmed. Ke ena https://t.co/mjv7YCOOat
— Keabetswe Khutsoane (she/her) (@KeaKhutsoane) March 16, 2023
The photos were take in June 2022, two months after Bester was reported dead.
GroundUp has seen photographs of a man who closely resembles Bester shopping in Woolworths in Sandton. The photograph shows him with long hair, wearing a tracksuit and sunglasses.
According to the publication, the person who took the pictures and leaked them, told GroundUp that she had recognised celebrity doctor Nandipha Magudumana and was surprised to see her with the man. She then took a picture to show a friend who is a fan of Magudumana.
GroundUp reported that it had sent the pictures to the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services (JICS) to confirm whether Bester had escaped from prison.
Their spokesperson Emerantia Cupido told GroundUp that it was “the first time JICS has seen these photos”.
“The Inspecting Judge, Justice Edwin Cameron is deeply concerned by the evidence he has received thus far, however, JICS cannot confirm this, as we are still busy with the JICS investigation,” Cupido was quoted as saying.
Cupido told the publication that they “unfortunately (do not) have the equipment or forensic accreditation to confirm the authenticity of these photos or the identity of the person in these photos”.
GroundUp also reported that days after Bester’s death, Magudumana had collected the body from the morgue but it was later confiscated by police for further investigations.
Magudumana, who is married, had claimed she was married to Bester by customary marriage, GroundUp reported.
A woman claiming to be Bester’s mother also tried to claim the body, but her DNA did not match that of the body discovered at the prison cell.
Magudumana then approached the high court in Pretoria asking that the body be released to her, claiming in an affidavit to be Bester’s customary law wife.
The court has yet to rule on the matter.
IOL approached national police spokesperson Colonel Athlenda Mathe and Department of Correctional Services spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo for comment on the matter, both did not reply to the questions which were sent to them.
This Thabo Bester thing is insane.
If it is him in Sandton as alleged, who died in prison? And how many people would be implicated in the escape?
- Who was the coroner who signed the death certificate?
- Who did the family bury?
Who, what, when, which … nton nton 😯 pic.twitter.com/wD4IQxxwEH
This Thabo Bester and Dr Nandi story so wild,the prison needs to answer who body was it,if his Alive and walking around Sandton,Maybe the correctional officials were paid so the doctor who declared him death,If so how many have faked their deaths In jail to be let free pic.twitter.com/8UOYypdXVp
— IG:Joy-Zelda (@joy_zelda) March 16, 2023
IOL