South Africa’s ‘Facebook rapist’ who faked his death to flee prison arrested in Tanzania

A convicted rapist and murderer, Thabo Bester, who had escaped from a prison in South Africaby faking hisdeath, was arrested in Tanzania, said the governmentin a statementon Saturday (April 8). Bester, who is also known as the “Facebook rapist” for using the social media platform to lure his victims, escaped from a privately-run prison in Bloemfontein.

Bester’s arrest in Tanzania

Notably, while the "Facebook rapist"had escaped from prison last year, South African police found it out only last month. The arrest took place late Friday when Bester and two of his suspected accomplices were apprehended in the city of Arusha in Tanzania.

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One of the two alleged accomplices is said to be his girlfriend, who along with the third suspect will be extradited to South Africa. The arrest was confirmed in a statement by the South African police who said that Bester along with his “accomplice Dr Nandipha Maguduma along with a Mozambican national have been arrested in Tanzania late last night (Friday).”

The police also believe that the trio was “heading for the border of another country,” said South Africa's Police Minister Bheki Cele, on Saturday. He added that they had arrived in Arusha from Dar es Salaam. Reportedly, they also had several passports with fake aliases.

Furthermore, Justice Minister Ronald Lamola said that a South African delegation will travel to Tanzania to bring the fugitives back. “We are confident that we will receive maximum cooperation from our sister nation, Tanzania, to assist us to bring these fugitives to justice,” said the justice minister.

How Bester faked his own death

Bester, who was reportedly at large for at least a year, was thought to be dead after setting himself on fire in his prison cell at the maximum security facility, Bloemfontein, operated by multinational company G4S. The British-owned security company has since dismissed three prison employees in connection with the incident whohave also been accused of helping him flee.

However, it was not until months of reporting by the South African non-profit news agency GroundUp suggested that he was alive. Last month, the prison admitted that the body found burned in the cell was not Bester’s.

Subsequently, the National Commissioner of the South African Police Service (SAPS), General Fannie Masemola, ordered that the investigation into the Mangaung prison escape be prioritised, said the police statement.

Additionally, a murder case was also registered and is currently being investigated after DNA analysis that confirmed that the body of the deceased which was found, was notBester's. The body's identity is still unknown.

“The autopsy report went on to further reveal that the deceased had died as a result of blunt force trauma to the head, and was already dead, prior to the arson incident,” said the police statement.

The case of the ‘Facebook rapist’

Dubbed the “Facebook rapist”, Bester was convicted in 2012 for the rape and murder of his model girlfriend Nomfundo Tyhulu and a year after he was found guilty of raping and robbing two other women. Prior to his escape, Bester also reportedly ran a scam media business from prison using a false name.

(With inputs from agencies)

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