Katlego Junior Mpholo was unveiled as the corpse that was used to mask Thabo Bester’s daring prison escape from Mangaung prison. Here’s everything we know about him this early into investigations.
Who is Katlego ‘Junior’ Mpholo?
As reported by News24, the probe into Bester’s prison break took a new turn on Friday, 21 April 2023, when authorities informed the Mpholo family that the charred corpse discovered in Cell 35 at Mangaung’s supermax prison belonged to their long-lost son, Katlego.
From what we understand, DNA tests done on the remains struck a match with a woman later identified as Katlego’s mother, Monica Mpholo.
It remains unclear, at this juncture, how police traced the remains to Mpholo’s family.
In a statement, police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe confirmed that albeit bittersweet, police were “pleased to bring closure to the family,”
For Katlego’s father Batho Mpholo, however, the revelation was the start of a new chapter of torment and a sobering reminder of how “our own government is failing us.”
A detailed timeline of Bester’s daring escape on the wee hours of Tuesday, 3 May 2022, has, thus far, implicated five suspects but a harder assignment for investigators will be determining those responsible for Mpholo’s death.
More pertinent for investigators will be uncovering how his corpse was smuggled into Cell 35. Already, G4S bosses provided a loose theory of how he may have been snuck inside Mangaung prison in a wooden media unit.
Moreover, multiple autopsies performed on Mpholo confirmed he was killed before his body was burned. At this juncture, investigators working the case have a mountain to climb in unravelling how Mpholo ended up as Bester’s ticket to freedom.
Our surface-level research uncovered Mpholo’s last known trickles of online activity, which date back to mid-2021.
Before 7 July 2021, Katlego ‘Junior’ Mpholo was relatively active on Facebook. A browse through his gallery showed he was an avid admirer of ‘ghetto fabulous’ glamour and his final posts before ‘going dark’ suggested he had turned a new leaf in his life.
In this Facebook post, published on 8 June 2021, Mpholo declared he was “crucified with Christ.”
“It Is No Longer I who Live , But Christ who lives In Me And The Life I Now Live In,” he wrote.
Our suspicions that Mpholo had possibly disappeared around the time he dropped off from social media were further cemented when his romantic partner, a woman named Thandiwe, surfaced with a statement shortly after news of his fate inside Bester’s cell was confirmed on Saturday.
In a heart-wrenching social media post, Thandiwe wrote about how she “was surprised that [he] would dump [his children],” suggesting she may have lost contact with Mpholo somewhere around mid-to-late 2021, only months before Bester escaped from prison.
Based on available online activity, here is what we know about Katlego Junior Mpholo:
- He was born on 18 May. His year of birth remains unknown at this time.
- He reportedly worked as a waiter at Spur Steak Ranches in Bloemfontein, Free State.
- He was reportedly a Varsity College graduate who may have later gone on to obtain qualifications NetCare 911 Academy.
- He was a father to a three-year-old boy and possibly one other child.
- He reportedly completed his matric at Lekhulong Secondary School in Rocklands, Mangaung.
As investigations into Bester’s escape continue, police confirmed more arrests are expected. The convicted murderer and rapist will make his second court appearance alongside Zolile Sekeleni on 16 May 2023.
His lover, Dr Nandipha, will return to court with the three other co-accused, on Wednesday 3 May 2023, exactly a year after Katlego Junior Mpholo’s body was torched inside Mangaung prison’s Cell 35.
