In a somewhat confusing media briefing this morning, Minister of Home Affairs Dr Aaron Motsoaledi explained the process they went through to trace Thabo Bester’s origins.

Motsoaledi says their investigation revealed that Bester is South African, but was never registered. In fact, his mother only registered herself at the age of 37 and he had disappeared from her life by then.

Bester escaped from Mangaung Correctional Centre in Bloemfontein in May 2022 by faking his death, allegedly with the help of Dr Nandipha Magudumana. He was serving life imprisonment for rape and murder.

“We were stuck, we were very stuck,” said Motsoaledi, while explaining their search to establish Bester’s identity. He could not be traced on either of the three South African databases of legal persons in South Africa.

A media interview led Motsoaledi’s department to a woman who claimed to have given birth to Bester in June 1986. The date was confirmed at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital.

They could also trace Bester’s primary school years up to Grade 5, whereafter there is no further record of him attending school.

Motsoaledi said Bester was enrolled at Laerskool Danie Theron in Johannesburg, using only his date of birth, which correlates with hospital records.

He says no passport was ever issued to Bester and that he was found in possession of an American passport at the time of his arrest. The passport was never used to cross any local borders.

See the media briefing here: