By Kyle Zeeman.
Thabo Bester appeared to be a senior figure in an elaborate prison syndicate that ran drug, money laundering, and sex operations behind bars, with claims those who raised questions or suspicions were poisoned.
Bester, who was initially convicted of murder and two counts of rape after luring women via Facebook, was serving a life sentence when he escaped from the Mangaung maximum-security prison in 2022 by setting his cell alight.
A body was found in his cell and officials announced Bester’s death at the time, but he was later spotted living a life of luxury and was eventually recaptured.
Investigations into his escape unearthed several other shocking practices at the prison during his time there, reported The Sunday Times, including prison guards prostituting themselves for between R1 000 and R1 500- which Bester was alleged to have made use of- and a ‘boy-wife’ movement to organise sex between prisoners.
Referring to a leaked document compiled by the Department of Correctional Services (DCS), the paper said Bester appeared to be pretty high up in the syndicate, which was believed to also include a senior prison manager.
The document also unearthed “a poisoning campaign to take out offenders who allegedly ‘saw things’ up to and leading to the Bester escape” and a plot to allegedly poison Bester’s former cellmate Zwelinzima Nquru after he shared his suspicions that the conman may not be dead.
“I was approached by a G4S security manager in June 2022 [a month after Bester’s escape] who gave me a blue substance in a bag. He told me to put it in the food of prisoner Zwelinzima Nquru,” an inmate, who was later removed from the prison, told the publication.
The department confirmed such a report but told the paper it could not investigate it further.
“Some aspects also relate to the Thabo Bester escape incident, [which is] now before the court and [in respect of which] investigations have not been closed”
Bester was caught with his lover, influencer Dr Nandipha Magudmana, in Tanzania last April.
Magudumana faces multiple counts, including fraud, defeating the ends of justice, and assisting an inmate to escape from prison.
Magudumana was denied bail by the court last year, finding that she was “a definite flight risk and that no bail condition will assist under the circumstances to limit this risk”.
Their trial starts in the Free State High Court in Bloemfontein on 21 February. Bester is being held at Kgosi Mampuru Prison and Magudumana at Kokstad Prison.