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Police arrest more G4S employees involved in Thabo Bester escape
Thabo Bester escaped from the Mangaung Correctional Centre after it was initially believed he died by suicide after setting himself alight.
Convicted rapist and escapee Thabo Bester appeared before the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday clad in a Louis Vuitton designer sweater. Picture: Twitter/ @Chriseldalewis
Police assigned to the case of convicted rapist and murderer Thabo Bester have arrested three more G4S employees in the matter.
Police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe said two of the suspects are aged 47 and the third is 37 years old.
Arrest
“All three are male and are all G4S employees. One suspect was arrested at his home in Botshabelo, while the other two were arrested at their place of residence – also in Bloemfontein. All three were arrested on Monday evening (26 June 2023).
Mathe said the trio is expected to appear before the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, 28 June 2023.
“They face charges of assisting an inmate to escape from lawful custody, violation of a corpse and corruption.”
To date, police have arrested 12 suspects involved in Bester’s escape.
“The possibility of effecting more arrests cannot be ruled out,” Mathe said.
ALSO READ: Three more arrests expected in Thabo Bester’s case, ninth suspect abandons bail
Court appearance
Earlier this month, nine suspects appeared before the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court facing multiple charges related to Bester’s escape from the Mangaung Correctional Centre in May last year, after he faked his death.
The co-accused included the convict’s alleged girlfriend and accomplice, Dr Nandipha Magudumana, her father Zolile Cornelius Sekeleni, former G4S employees Senohe Matsoara, Buti (Motenyane John) Masukela, Tieho Frans Makhotsa and Nastassja Jansen, and Integriton CCTV technician Teboho James Lipholo.
The ninth suspect arrested in relation to Bester’s escape, Zanda Moyo, also appeared in court. He abandoned his bid to be released on bail.
Moyo, a Zimbabwean national, was arrested in Johannesburg after an undercover police operation.
Bester arrest
Bester and his lover Magadumana were arrested on 7 April 2023, about 10km out of Arusha in Tanzania, after fleeing the hotel they were staying in.
They were arrested alongside a Mozambican called Zacharia Alberto, believed to be the driver who helped them cross different borders during their escape.
During their arrest, the couple was found with several passports with multiple identities in their possession.
In April, a Tanzanian source told The Citizen that the convicted rapist and murderer pleaded for his life after he was arrested by authorities in Tanzania.
ALSO READ: Police arrest Zimbabwean national in Thabo Bester escape saga
