South African killer arrested for faking death to escape prison

Thabo Bester on camera screen at Western Cape High Court, Cape Town, South Africa, Thursday 03 May 2012 : AP Photo/Nardus Engelbrecht

A convicted South African killer who faked his own death to escape prison has been arrested in Tanzania after a two-week manhunt.

South African officials will travel to Tanzania on Sunday to proceed with extradition 35- year-old Thabo Bester, who has been dubbed the «Facebook rapist» because he used the social media platform to lure at least two women he was convicted of raping. He was also found guilty of killing one of them.

Bester was sentenced to life in prison in 2012, and last May it was reported that he died in a fire in his prison cell.

However, there were reports that he was seen in Johannesburg, and the investigation, including DNA samples, showed that the body found burned beyond recognition in the cell was not his.

Two weeks ago, police said they were after Bester, and last week they raided a luxury home he was believed to be renting in an upscale suburb of Johannesburg.

Bester was detained along with his girlfriend, Nandifa Magudumana, well-known officials said they were helped to cross the border and escape from law enforcement by a well-known doctor and a Mozambican citizen.

They were found on several fake passports that did not have stamps at the time of their arrest, about 10 kilometers (six miles) from the border with Kenya.

Bester was detained along with his girlfriend Nandifa Magudumana, a well-known celebrity doctor. Credit: @drnandipha/CEN

Authorities have begun the process of extraditing the fugitives back to South Africa, where they are expected to face multiple charges.

After announcing Bester's arrest, Attorney General Ronald Lamola said: «An official delegation from South Africa, consisting of high-ranking officials from the police, justice and corrections departments, will travel to Tanzania on Sunday.»

South African news agency GroundUp reported that for almost a year after his prison break, Bester lived a luxurious lifestyle with Magudumana in the upscale Johannesburg suburb of Hyde Park.

It was also reported that while in prison, Bester used a laptop which he had. for studies to run an event management and production company, and at one point spoke at a conference from his jail cell, telling attendees that he was speaking from the United States.

Bester's carefully crafted jailbreak raised many questions about the possible involvement of prison officials.

According to local reports, at least three officials were fired from the Mangaung Correctional Center, from where Bester escaped.

The prison was run by the private British security firm G4S.

The South African government has taken over the management of the maximum security prison and has announced that the G4S contract to operate the prison will not be renewed after it expires in 2026.