THE Department of Correctional Services (DCS) has responded to reports that Thabo Bester, famously known as “Facebook rapist”, is alive and well.
This after the investigative news agency, GroundUP, released a report detailing how Bester might have faked his death so he could escape prison.
Bester became known as the “Facebook rapist” as he used the social media platform to lure women with claims that international modelling scouts were interested in them. He would then rape and rob them at knifepoint.
On 3 May 2022, DCS reported that Bester was found dead in his cell at Mangaung Correctional Centre, a private maximum security prison, where he was serving a life sentence for his crimes, which included, rape, murder and theft.
At the time of his death, it was reported that a fire broke out and a burnt body was found under a burnt mattress in a cell that Bester had just been transferred to.
The body was burnt beyond recognition.
According to GroundUp, minutes before the fire broke out, CCTV cameras observed people leaving the prison in a hurry.
The autopsy report revealed the person was dead before the fire broke out.
“Celebrity doctor Nandipha Magudumana collected the body, claiming to be Bester’s wife, but the body was later confiscated by police and a woman who says she is Bester’s biological mother also tried to claim the body, but her DNA did not match the body’s,” reported GroundUp.
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It was also reported that a man looking like Bester was spotted at a shopping centre in Sandton, north of Joburg two months after his alleged death.
Responding to the reports, DCS spokesman Singabakho Nxumalo said almost all media enquiries received relied heavily on so-called leaks from unidentified sources.
“It would be irresponsible for DCS to respond on unconfirmed or unofficial reports.
“What we have seen in the past two days relates to information supplied by these unauthorised sources and the department is pressured to confirm nor deny these reports,” he said.
Nxumalo said the investigation into Bester's death has not been concluded, and the autopsy report has not been tabled before the department.
“The matter has become a subject of public interest and the department is pressing on the investigation team to conclude its work so that the findings could be made available,” he said.
