Thabo Bester appeared alongside his lover Dr Nandipha Magudumana and 11 other suspects accused of aiding in his daring escape, and of course, the convicted ‘Facebook Rapist’ caused a stir over a list of stolen items he claims are valued at R27.72 million.
Thabo Bester demands answers from these officials on whereabouts of ‘stolen’ items
On Tuesday, all persons accused of helping a convicted murderer and serial rapist escape from Mangaung Prison in May 2022, appeared for what should have been an open-and-shut proceeding, where all parties were expected to confirm their approval of the State’s final request for a postponement.
As expected, however, Bester had a few issues to place on record. Firstly, his lawyer argued the inhumane nature of the conditions he is supposedly held in at Kgosi Mampuru Prison.
According to Bester, prison wardens keep him locked in his cell and chained for 23 hours every day, a shocking accusation levelled at the Department of Correctional Services.
The department is not on record in the prison escape case and, thus, an immediate response to the serious allegations was not received.
Secondly, Bester invited the court to know that he has filed a criminal complaint against 13 senior officials from the Special Task Force, South African Police Service, the Department of Correctional Services, the Department of Home Affairs, the leading investigative team behind his recapture, as well as the South African High Commission, in relation to items valued at R27.72 million, which went missing after he was arrested alongside Dr Nandipha in Tanzania, in April 2023.
While his lawyer claimed he did not want to waste the court’s time placing each item on record, along with its accompanying value, Bester’s legal representative did it anyway.
These are the stolen items Bester claims could be in the possession of the senior officials in question:
- iPhone 14 Pro Max – R36 000
- Samsung S23 – R32 000
- Samsung Z4 – R40 000
- iPod 16 – R18 000
- MacBook Air 16 – R12 500
- MacBook Pro 16 – R34 600
- Burberry cardholder – R15 500
- Burberry sunglasses – R11 500
- Tom Ford sunglasses – R9 500
- HP laptop – R41 000
- Louis Vuitton laptop bag – R51 000
- Marriage ring – R350 000
- Audemar Patek x2 – R2.5 million
- FM watch x2 – R2.5 million
- Rolex O x2 – R2.6 million
- C watch – R1 750
- ‘PP’ – R1.9 million
- R295 000 (cash)
- $36 000 (cash)
- Tsh7.2 million (cash)
- ZK1.4 million (cash)
- £500 000 (cash)
- SFr150 000 (cash)
Your Lordship, all these items that are mentioned they were reported stolen by Accused 5 (Thabo Bester) at the Lanseria police station. I do not have the CAS number of the said matter, Your Lordship. However, I felt it was prudent that we put this on record,” Bester’s attorney said.
The State, in response, simply chalked Bester’s claim as a matter not fit for the merits of the day’s proceedings and, as expected, the court concurred.
Bester and his alleged subordinates will return to court on 11 October 2023.
