Metro

Thabo Bester, who faked own death to escape from prison, arrested in Tanzania

Published

2 years ago

April 9, 2023

A convicted South African rapist and murderer, Thabo Bester, who faked his own death to escape from prison where he was serving a life sentence for rape, robbery and murder, has been arrested in Tanzania.

Bester, popularly dubbed the “Facebook Rapist”, was convicted in 2012 for allegedly luring victims on the social media platform before raping and robbing them. At his trial, it was established that he had killed at least one of his victims.

Bester had created a buzz in the past one year after it was thought he died by setting himself on fire in his prison cell.

In May 2022, it was reported that the convict had been found dead in his cell after apparently setting himself on fire at the Mangaung Correctional Centre in the city of Bloemfontein but following discrete investigation, the media began to raise doubts about Bester’s death.

The reports led to the police opening a new murder investigation after further tests revealed the deceased was not Bester but an unidentified person who was apparently murdered and set on fire.

Employees of the British-owned security company G4S, which ran the prison where Bester was serving his term, were also accused of helping the fugitive to escape which led to the dismissal of three of them.

During investigation, it was discovered that after escaping from prison, Bester and his girlfriend, Dr Nandipha Magudumana, lived in a rented mansion in Sandton, while Bester used an ID document and driver’s licence under the name ‘Katlego Nkwana’.

The couple operated Arum Properties together, scamming several people into paying millions for construction projects that were never completed.

A manhunt was launched in March after a new post-mortem investigation revealed the body was not actually his, leading to Bester’s arrest on Friday with Magudumana and an accomplice, Zakaria Alberto, as they were believed to be preparing to flee into neighbouring Kenya.

South African Police Minister, Bheki Cele, who addressed a press conference on Saturday, said the three were arrested in Arusha, near the Kenyan border, as they attempted to leave the country.

“We can confirm that escapee Mr Thabo Bester with his accomplice Dr Nandipha Magudumana along with a Mozambican national have been arrested in Tanzania late last night,” Cele said.

“Authorities stopped the black SUV the fugitives were travelling in after it left a hotel. The suspects had arrived in Arusha from Dar es Salaam.

“They were each in possession of several passports. We are confident we will receive maximum cooperation from our sister nation, Tanzania, to bring these fugitives to justice,” he added.

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Metro

Zambia: FOX report highlights persistent media harassment, calls for reforms

Published

10 hours ago

December 18, 2024

Isaac Dachen

A new Freedom of Expression (FOX) report by the Media Institute for Southern Africa (MISA) Zambia, has raised concerns over what it describes as the continued harassment of media professionals in the country despite collective efforts to safeguard freedom of expression.

The FOX Report serves as a call to action for all stakeholders to create a safer and more enabling environment for the media to operate without fear or intimidation.

Chairperson of the MISA-Zambia Board, Lorraine Mwanza, who raised the concerns while launching the report on Tuesday at the Pamodzi Hotel in Lusaka, highlighted that journalists and media practitioners in the country still faced intimidation, censorship, and violence for fulfilling their role of informing the public.

“The harassment of media professionals is a stark reminder of the threats posed to democratic values and the fundamental rights to seek, receive, and impart information without fear or hindrance,” Mwanza said.

She expressed solidarity with those who are targets of attack, and reaffirmed MISA’s commitment to defending journalists’ rights and protecting the integrity of the profession.

Mwanza further called on the government to address barriers preventing journalists from accessing public officials, emphasizing that public officials were custodians of critical information necessary for informed decision-making.

“When citizens have access to government data, they can better understand policies, monitor public spending, and advocate for change in their communities,” Mwanza noted.

She also appealed for the review and repeal of laws that undermine democracy, stressing the importance of enacting legislation that guarantees media freedom, freedom of expression, and digital rights, and commended the government for responding to calls from civil society organizations to withdraw the controversial Cyber Bills from Parliament.

Ministry of Information and Media Permanent Secretary, Thabo Kawana, in a speech read by Ministry Director Mordern Mayembe, reaffirmed government’s commitment to upholding media freedom and freedom of expression in Zambia.

Metro

Nigeria: 614,937 killed, 2.2m abducted in 1 year— Report

Published

20 hours ago

December 18, 2024

Isaac Dachen

A new report released on Tuesday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed that over 614,937 Nigerians were killed and 2,235,954 others kidnapped across the country in one year between May 2023 and April 2024.

The NBS report, titled, “The Crime Experienced and Security Perception Survey (CESPS) 2024”, says based on the surveys conducted between May 2023 and April 2024, the 2.2 million Nigerians who were kidnapped across the country paid a whopping N2.2 trillion as ransom, with an average amount of N2.7 million per incident.

The report also disclosed that murder rate was highest in rural areas with 335,827 incidents and 279,110 in urban areas.

A zone-by-zone analysis of the report showed that the North-West had the highest murder cases of 206,030, followed by the North-East which stood at 188,992, while the least was recorded in the South-West at 15,693.

The report also revealed about seven in 10 households reported murder cases to the police nationwide with 33 per cent of households responding that the killer was an unknown person, and 23.4 per cent confirmed that the murderer was a member of the household; while 1.0 per cent reported that the murderer was either a spouse or a lover.

The report said 1,668,104 persons were kidnapped in rural areas and 567,850 in urban areas with the North-West having the highest cases of kidnapping with 1,420,307 abducted, followed by the North-Central with 317,837 and the South-East at 110,432.

“Of the estimated amount of N2.2 trillion payments to free victims, the North-West reported the highest ransom paid with N1.2 trillion; while the South-East was the least with N85.4 billion.

“Disaggregated by zones, the North-Central reported the highest proportion of payment of ransom at 83.4 per cent, followed by North-East at 78.6 per cent.

“Households in urban areas paid an average of N3.7 million compared to N2.3 million in rural areas,” the report stated.

It added that about 91 per cent of kidnapping incidents were done for ransom in the form of money, goods or other benefits.

“While 2.4 per cent of cases were attributed to political, criminal, or terrorist objectives; 2.1 per cent were linked to personal or family disputes. Custody disputes accounted for 0.5 per cent of cases,” the report said.