Ministers Bheki Cele and Ronald Lamola are giving an update following the arrests of fugitive Thabo Bester and his lover, Dr Nandipha Magudumana.
The pair was brought back to South Africa in the early hours of this morning, following their arrest in Tanzania at the weekend.
The media briefing comes five days after a delegation from South Africa, comprising senior officials from the SAPS, Justice and Correctional Services and Home Affairs, departed for Tanzania to meet their counterparts and engage on the process required to bring back the fugitive and his accomplice.
Bester escaped from custody at the Mangaung Correctional facility in May last year, following a fire in his single cell. Officials had issued a statement confirming that the man, dubbed the “Facebook rapist”, had perished in the blaze.
Bester and Magudumana arrived in South Africa in the wee hours of this morning and were taken into custody amid a heavy security guard.
A plane carrying the duo landed at Lanseria airport in Gauteng this morning, and the couple were quickly whisked away in separate vehicles.
Here comes #DrNandiphaMagudumana pic.twitter.com/BmytOMh8jO
— Mzilikazi wa Afrika (@IamMzilikazi) April 13, 2023
Police have arrested a 44-year-old man in connection with Bester’s escape.
National police spokesperson, Brigadier Athelenda Mathe, said the accused was an employee contracted to a company that installed and maintained cameras at the Mangaung Correctional Centre.
He faces a charge of aiding and abetting a convicted prisoner to escape from lawful custody, defeating the ends of justice and violation of a dead body.
She said North West police had seized a white Porsche Cayenne vehicle believed to belong to Magudumana.
"The vehicle was seized by the Gauteng SAPS Tracking Team in Lichtenburg, North West.
“A 28-year-old male driver has since been taken into police custody where he is currently being questioned," Mathe said.
IOL