The South African police’s attempt at smuggling Thabo Bester and Dr Nandipha Magudumana into the country without the media hoopla failed dismally as journalists waited with cameras ready to capture the first images of the fugitive duo a Johannesburg airport, in the wee hours of Thursday morning.
Watch: Thabo Bester and Dr Nandipha arrive in South Africa
While most of South Africa was sound asleep at approximately 04:00 on Thursday, 13 April 2023, a delegation team returned from Tanzania with two of the country’s most wanted criminals in tow, on a chartered aircraft that touched down at Lanseria Airport.
By then, information on the fugitive couple’s arrival had trickled down the grapevine and the media was at the ready, with cameras rolling, to capture live images of Bester and Dr Nandipha as they were whisked away to nearby holding cells.
Due to Bester’s status as an escaped inmate, he was hauled into a ‘Nyala’ and possibly sent to a super-max prison, where he will likely be transferred back to Mangaung Correctional Centre.
On the other hand, Dr Nandipha was escorted into a private police van, surrounded by armed officers. The disgraced doctor, it’s believed, was taken to a police station, where she’ll likely be held in custody until her first court appearance on charges ranging from defeating the ends of justice, aiding and abetting a fugitive, to fraud and possibly murder.
In a statement released hours before the fugitive couple’s return to South Africa, the ministries of justice and police confirmed Ronald Lamola and Bheki Cele will “update the nation on the progress on the deportation of convicted murderer and rapist Thabo Bester.”
“The media briefing comes five days after an official delegation from South Africa comprising of senior officials from the Police, Justice and Correctional services and Home Affairs, departed for Tanzania to meet with their counterparts and engage on teh process required to bring back the fugitive and his accomplice Dr Nandipha Magudumana,” the statement read.
The briefing is set to take place in Cape Town at approximately 08:30.
The dramatic events at Lanseria unravelled a day after G4S heads Cobus Groenewoud, Joseph Monyante and Gert Beyleveld were grilled about the colossal failures of the security company in turning a blind eye to Bester’s prison break, which, evidence suggests, was not only avoidable but also involved top-level cooperation from high-ranking employees.
Moreover, the suspect list in Thabo Bester’s escape increased when police confirmed the arrest of a further two persons of interest, on Wednesday.
One suspect, reports claim, was charged with aiding and abetting a fugitive, as well as violating a corpse, while the second person of interest, was questioned on their involvement in Bester’s escape.