Thabo Bester was a ‘powerful figure’ with stacks of money in prison
Parliament heard how ‘Facebook rapist’ apparently had an enormous amount of money on his bed the night before he escaped from prison
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Captured fugitive Thabo Bester is said to have been a “powerful figure” inside the Mangaung Correctional Centre and always had an “enormous” amount of money inside the prison.
This was confirmed by the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Service (JICS) during its parliamentary presentation on the escape of Bester on Thursday.
ANC MP Anthea Ramolobeng said inmates mentioned that Bester, dubbed the Facebook rapist, was dealing and selling drugs during his incarceration.
“I read as well that on the day of the incident, he had a lot of money on top of his bed while he was having his laptop,” she said.
JICS inspector judge Justice Edwin Cameron confirmed this, stating that G4S personnel mentioned that Bester was a powerful figure in the Mangaung Correctional Centre.
“I asked them if Thabo was a powerful figure in this facility, and the two officials both said yes. One official indicated to us that Thabo Bester made enormous amounts of money while inside. That is why I think the question put to G4S about the video conference at the Sandton hotel was so significant,” Cameron said.
Bester ran a bogus event and production company, 21st Century Media, where he posed as the chairperson.
A glitzy launch of his company was held at the Hilton Hotel in Sandton and was attended by guests including celebrities Yvonne Chaka Chaka and Amanda Du Pont.
As the chairperson, Bester went by the name “Tom Motsepe” and attended via video call as he was apparently “in New York” at the time.
The attendees even sang happy birthday to Bester, who appeared in a suit and a luxury watch seated in front of a white wall.
No-one knew the smiling and blushing so-called chairperson was actually video-calling from prison.
Cameron said they only found out about this event and the bogus company in February this year.
“[Bester] was carrying on his fraudulent activities from within the centre and making a huge amount of money,” he said.
Bester escaped from the Mangaung Correctional Centre in May 2022. He was recaptured last week in Tanzania after a manhunt for him and his partner, Dr Nandipha Magudumana.
The pair were brought back to South Africa in the early hours of Thursday morning.