During a press conference held in Cape Town on Thursday, the Justice and Police Ministers officially announced that Thabo Bester, convicted murderer and rapist, along with his accomplice Nandipha Magudumana, have been successfully extradited back to South Africa after being apprehended in Tanzania over the weekend.
Bester had previously escaped from the Mangaung Correctional Centre in May 2022, and a number of people have since been arrested in connection with the incident, including an on-duty official, Senohe Matsoara, Magudumana’s father, Zolile Sekeleni, and a CCTV technician, Tebogo Lipholo.
According to Police Minister Bheki Cele, while Magudumana was cooperative with authorities in Tanzania, Bester was not. Bester is now being held at the high-security Kgosi Mampuru prison in Pretoria, where he is under constant surveillance, while Magudumana is scheduled to appear in court in Bloemfontein on Thursday.
Magudumana is facing charges relating to assisting in a prison escape, murder, abuse of corpses, and fraudulent activities. According to Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola, it is speculated that Magudumana was in possession of multiple dead bodies at some point in time.
During Bester’s time in prison, Magudumana regularly visited him. After Bester faked his own death in a jail cell fire, Magudumana retrieved the body that was found in Bester’s cell and claimed Bester’s belongings from prison officials.
Minister of Justice Ronald Lamola expressed gratitude to the Tanzanian government for their “unequivocal cooperation” in the arrest and deportation of Bester and Magudumana. A Mozambican citizen who was apprehended with Bester and Magudumana did not return to South Africa.