The drama surrounding the daring escape from a Bloemfontein prison by convicted rapist and murderer Thabo Bester has taken another macabre twist with revelations that his girlfriend, well-known celebrity doctor Nandipha Magudumana, allegedly stole three bodies from Free State mortuaries.
The two lovers, who went on the run a fortnight ago after news of his escape from the Mangaung Correctional Centre emerged, were apprehended in Tanzania over the weekend together with a Mozambican national believed to have assisted them to cross borders and evade law-enforcement authorities.
At the time of their arrest, they were found with several fake passports which were unstamped.
Government officials have since travelled to the east African country to begin the process to extradite the trio.
Authorities said they had believed Bester died after setting himself alight in the privately run Mangaung Correctional Centre on 3 May 2022, but two weeks ago the police said DNA tests had revealed the charred remains found in Bester’s cell belonged to someone else.
It has now emerged that weeks before the 35-year-old rapist’s escape, Magudumana allegedly stole three unidentified bodies from Free State mortuaries in a bid to help him escape from prison.
She reportedly claimed one of the bodies was her father’s.
The body was later found dumped in Bloemspruit dam a week later and it still had the mortuary’s identification tag attached to the toe, according to the Sunday Times.
Magudumana’s father was arrested on Saturday as the police are now investigating if he was involved in the theft of the corpses.
For nearly a year after his prison escape, Bester – dubbed the “Facebook Rapist” as he used the social media platform to lure at least two women he was convicted of raping, killing one of them – was reportedly living a lavish lifestyle with Magudumana in Johannesburg’s upmarket Hyde Park suburb.
While in prison, Bester used a laptop he had for studies to run an event and production company, according news outlet GroundUp.
At one point he addressed a conference from his prison cell, telling attendees that he was speaking from the United States, it reported.
Bester’s elaborate escape from prison has raised many questions about the possible involvement of prison officials.
At least three officials have been fired from the Mangaung Correctional Centre from where Bester escaped, according to reports.
The prison was managed privately by the British-based G4S security firm, but the government has now taken over management of the maximum-security jail. – Staff Reporter