By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
SA Police Services (SAPS) on Monday announced that two more suspects have been arrested in connection with Thabo Bester’s escape from prison.
Bester and his partner Dr Nandipha Magudumana were arrested in Tanzania on Friday.
A Mozambican national, Zakaria Alberto, was also arrested. He was allegedly helping the couple move across African borders in their bid to escape detention.
They travelled from Johannesburg to Bulawayo, Zimbabwe; to Zambia and then to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania; before they were nabbed in Arusha.
The suspects, a former G4S employee and a man from Port Edward in the Eastern Cape, are expected to appear in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.
National police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe says the two have been charged with aiding and abetting a convicted prisoner to escape from lawful custody.
Mathe said the former G4S employee was arrested at his home in Bloemfontein on Saturday. The 65-year-old man was arrested at his home in Port Edward on Friday.
“A delegation led by the SAPS’ deputy national commissioner responsible for policing, Lieutenant- General Tebello Mosikili, has arrived in Tanzania and is currently engaged with their counterparts to finalise all legal processes required towards bringing escapee Thabo Bester and his accomplices to justice in South Africa, said Mathe.
“The team is currently engaged with their Tanzanian counterparts to finalise all legal processes required towards bringing escapee Thabo Bester and his accomplices to justice in South Africa.”
Bester escaped from the Mangaung Correctional Centre in Bloemfontein after it was initially believed he had committed suicide by setting himself alight in his cell. The charred body that was found in his cell is yet to be identified.