Thabo Bester: Dr Nandipha Magudumana remanded in custody

Nandipha Magudumana

Cape Town – Dr Nandipha Magudumana has been remanded in custody after making her first court appearance.

Magudumana appeared in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court on Thursday afternoon on charges of aiding and abetting an escape from prison, murder, violation of bodies and fraud.

Magudumana was joined in the dock by Tebogo James Dipholo, an employee contracted to a company that instals CCTV cameras at the Mangaung Correctional Centre (MCC), from where Thabo Bester escaped custody after faking his death, The Citizen reported.

Dipholo, 44, was arrested on Wednesday. It is alleged he manipulated the MCC’s cameras, for a fee, on the night and morning that the so-called Facebook rapist escaped from jail, the report said.

According to Times Live, Magudumana and Dipholo were escorted into a packed courtroom by heavily armed police officers clad in balaclavas on Thursday.

Magudumana kept her eyes locked on the floor and covered her head and face with a hoodie and surgical mask, the report said.

The matter was postponed for bail information and a possible bail application.

Magudumana will appear in court again on Monday along with other co-accused in Bester’s prison escape.

Bester’s case resurfaced in October last year when GroundUp reported on the mystery surrounding his death.

In March, the outlet reported damning evidence suggesting the deputy minister of correctional services had been informed by a prison warder about Bester’s escape as early as June 2022 – yet nothing was done.

South African authorities, following mounting pressure from the public after details of his escape were uncovered, began efforts to apprehend him in late March.

The correctional services ministry announced last month that it would not renew its contract with G4S, the British multinational private security company which ran the private prison Bester escaped from.

The prison has been taken over by South African authorities pending the outcome of the ongoing investigations.

The London-headquartered security company was also summoned to parliament by a committee looking into the case.

President Cyril Ramaphosa was “disturbed” by the escape, his spokesperson said on Wednesday.

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Compiled by Betha Madhomu 

Additional information by AFP

 

 

‘He must go to Kokstad prison. Kgosi Mampuru can’t be trusted at all’ – Malema on Thabo Bester

Cape Town – EFF leader Julius Malema says “Facebook rapist” and murderer Thabo Bester must be moved to Ebongweni C-Max prison in Kokstad, KwaZulu-Natal.

Bester, who faked his own death in a prison break that embarrassed the authorities, has been extradited from Tanzania, the government said on Thursday.

Bester, convicted of rape and murder, escaped from a privately-run prison in Bloemfontein in May last year – but police only found out last month.

He was believed to have died after setting himself on fire behind bars, but in late March police said DNA tests revealed the charred remains found in his cell belonged to someone else.

The correctional services department said on Thursday that the captured fugitive will be placed under 24/7 surveillance.

“We are placing a 24/7 surveillance on him,” DCS commissioner Makgothi Samuel Thobakgale said during a media briefing on the deportation process in bringing Bester and his lover Dr Nandipha Magudumana back to South Africa.

Thobakgale confirmed that Bester was put into Kgosi Mampuru maximum security section known as C-Max, for his and the prison’s safety “given the type of offender he is.”

But Malema said it was a bad move.

“He must go to Kokstad prison. Kgosi Mampuru can’t be trusted at all.”

According to Times Live, The Kgosi Mampuru II prison has previously seen a number of prison breaks, including the escape of Thabo Zacharia Muyambo and Johannes Chauke.

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Cape Town – Disgraced and suspended medical doctor, Nandipha Magudumana, will face numerous charges, including aiding and abetting the escape of a prisoner.

This is according to the National Police Commissioner, Fannie Masemola.

Magudumana is expected to appear in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court.

This comes after fugitive Thabo Bester who faked his own death in a prison break that embarrassed the authorities has been extradited from Tanzania, the government said on Thursday.

Bester, convicted of rape and murder, escaped from a privately-run prison in Bloemfontein in May last year – but police only found out last month.

Bester was believed to have died after setting himself on fire behind bars, but in late March police said DNA tests revealed the charred remains found in his cell belonged to someone else.

Dubbed the “Facebook rapist”, Bester – who was sentenced to life in prison for rape, robbery and murder in 2012 — lured victims on the social media platform before raping and robbing them. He killed at least one victim.

On Saturday, South African Justice Minister Ronald Lamola announced that Bester had been arrested by Tanzanian authorities on Friday night along with a woman, a Mozambican national with whom he is reportedly romantically involved.

On Thursday, Lamola said the pair had been extradited to South Africa.

“We can confirm that these fugitives have been returned to South Africa” from Tanzania, Lamola told a press conference in Cape Town.

“Mr Thabo Bester has been readmitted into the Kgosi Mampuru central maximum correctional facility”, Lamola said, thanking the Tanzanian government.

Magudumana was under arrest pending a court appearance later on Thursday, he said.

Bester and Magudumana landed at a privately-owned airport north of Johannesburg in the early hours of Thursday morning.

The father of the woman was earlier this week charged with murder in connection with the man found dead in Bester’s cell.

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Compiled by Betha Madhomu 

Additional information by AFP

 

Thabo Bester to be placed under 24/7 surveillance in C-Max prison

Cape Town – The correctional services department says captured fugitive Thabo Bester will be placed under 24/7 surveillance.

“We are placing a 24/7 surveillance on him,” DCS commissioner Makgothi Samuel Thobakgale said during a media briefing on the deportation process in bringing Bester and his lover Dr Nandipha Magudumana back to South Africa.

Thobakgale confirmed that Bester was put into Kgosi Mampuru maximum security section known as C-Max, for his and the prison’s safety “given the type of offender he is.”

Meanwhile, the National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola said that  so far there were five arrests, including Bester and Magudumana, and one person being questioned.

Bester escaped from custody at the Mangaung Correctional facility in May last year, following a fire in his single cell. Officials had issued a statement confirming that the man, dubbed the “Facebook rapist”, had perished in the blaze.

A plane carrying Bester and Magudumana landed at Lanseria airport in Gauteng on Thursday morning, and the couple were quickly whisked away in separate vehicles.

“We can confirm that these fugitives have been returned to South Africa. Bester has been readmitted into the Kgosi Mampuru Central Maximum correctional facility and Dr Magudumana is under arrest, pending her first court appearance.

“We are grateful to all the roleplayers seized with this matter thus far, this includes state agencies and members of the public who have shared information that has assisted in the detention of the two fugitives, following an extensive man hunt. Thus far there is considerable progress with a number of arrests being effected,” Justice Minister Ronald Lamola said.

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Compiled by Betha Madhomu 

 

WATCH | Thabo Bester, Nandipha Magudumala arrive in SA

Cape Town – Fugitive and convicted murderer-rapist Thabo Bester and his lover Nandipha Magudumana have finally arrived back in the country.

The couple landed at Lanseria International Airport under a heavy police guard in the early hours of Thursday morning, eNCA reported.

Bester and Magudumala were arrested with a Mozambican national over Easter en route from Arusha in Tanzania to the Kenyan border.

According to Times Live, on Wednesday SAPS police ministry spokesperson Lirandzu Themba announced that Police Minister Bheki Cele and Justice Minister Ronald Lamola would on Thursday brief the country on Bester and Magudumana’s deportation processes.

Meawhile, SAfm News reported that Bester, has been booked in at the Kgosi Mampuru II prison in Pretoria. while Magudumana is expected to be taken to the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court where she will be charged.

More to follow… 

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