Fugitive Facebook rapist and murderer Thabo Bester has been living it up in a R12m luxury home in Hyde Park in Johannesburg’s plush northern suburbs since he supposedly died in a fire in Mangaung prison in May last year.
In the early hours of Monday this week, Bester — along with his socialite doctor girlfriend Nandipha Magudumana and her two children — pulled off another audacious disappearing trick from their rented mansion in 2nd Road.
So sudden was their departure that Bester left a R1.5m watch on his bedside table.
In an elaborate prison break, Bester, convicted of murder and two counts of rape after luring women via Facebook, staged his own death in his cell in May 2022 by setting his mattress alight and “burning to death”.
His secret “death escape” was recently uncovered by GroundUp after it came across a photograph of him shopping at a Woolworths store a month after correctional services announced his death. It is still not known who really died in the fire.
It has since emerged that the “dead” Bester has been living large in Johannesburg, under the name Katlego Tom “TK” Motsepe Nkwana.
Staff at the 4Tune Property Smiths estate agency, who did not want to be identified, told the Sunday Times Bester and Magudumana flaunted their wealth and spent millions on rent for more than one property.
Bester, or Nkwana, signed lease agreements and had video calls with the property managers from prison, with Magudumana explaining her “husband was working overseas”.
After Bester escaped, Magudumana announced her husband had returned from his overseas stint.
This was a similar ruse to one they employed in 2018, when Bester, according to a GroundUp report, ran a media company from jail and posed as the chair of 21st Century Media, a scam events and production firm that hosted a glamorous launch at Hilton Hotel in Sandton.
“Chairman Tom Motsepe” video-called into the conference from “New York”, but it was Bester speaking from prison. The audience even sang happy birthday to Bester, with the event taking place on June 13, the Facebook rapist’s birthday.
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After speaking to sources close to the police, correctional services and others who interacted with the fugitives, the Sunday Times can reveal:
- The couple appeared to use five houses over the past nine months;
- Caused R600,000 worth of damage to a second house in 2nd Road that Magudumana rented for her medical practice, despite being suspended by the Health Professions Council of South Africa in April 2021 for nonpayment of its annual fees;
- Stripped one of the properties of an oven, hob, extractor fan and four crystal chandeliers, smashing at least one bedroom door with a crowbar;
- Drove two new, near-identical Porsches and wore the latest fashions, yet were often in arrears on the rent, which totalled R175,000 a month for all the properties;
- Plotted to secretly sell one of the two rented 2nd Road properties in February;
- Correctional services officers spent hours interviewing 4Tune Property Smiths staff and searching the 2nd Road homes on Friday for clues to the couple’s whereabouts;
- They allegedly made R1.8m worth of unauthorised alterations to the 2nd Road house they lived in; and
- Magudumana discovered last month that Bester was renting a home from 4Tune in Morningside for a woman who was allegedly his mistress.
The properties, some of which the couple began renting in 2020, are in the upmarket suburbs of Hyde Park, Sandown and Morningside, according to 4Tune Property Smiths staff.
Bester, under the name TK Nkwana, signed the rental agreement for one of the Sandown properties while in prison, a year before his escape. At the time he told the company in a FaceTime call that he was in Europe.
A property manager at the estate agency was stunned when reports of Bester’s prison escape emerged.
“When I saw the pictures online last week and then again in the papers on Sunday, I knew that TK is Bester. I contacted the owner and told him. He phoned me back and said TK is definitely Bester.
“We realised how serious this was; that this guy had been hiding in our property since his escape.
“We knew that they had planned this. The changing of the security gates, the request for a very, very private property, with high walls, which offered exclusive seclusion, now makes sense.”
We realised how serious this was, that this guy had been hiding out in our property since his escape. We knew that they had planned this. The changing of the security gates, the request for a very, very private property, with high walls, which offered exclusive seclusion now makes sense
— Property manager, 4Tune Property Smiths
A 4Tune executive said the scene at the R12m house on Monday evening after the couple had fled was one of chaos.
Magudumana’s jewellery lay scattered across the floor of a walk-in closet in the voluminous master bedroom. Her clothes and those of her children were found crumpled on the floor.
The following day eight men, with rifles and handguns, spent six hours packing two furniture removal trucks as they ransacked the property.
They assaulted one of the owner’s staff members when he tried to photograph them.
The property manager said that everything went smoothly in the initial stages of the business relationship with Bester and Magudumana.
“The rent was R40,000 a month. They paid a year’s rent upfront. Because we had the payment there was no reason to scrutinise their credit history like we normally do when we rent out properties. We thought they were legit.
“When the rent was up for renewal in 2021 Nandipha asked about our 2nd Road property in Hyde Park. She went to view it in March 2022 and fell in love with it. I now know why. It has massive walls and is highly secure. We chatted with TK again over FaceTime and he was happy and said he was returning to South Africa soon.”
When “TK” was back in town, he said he wanted to do minor renovations to the Hyde Park house.
“We discovered recently that the kitchen was completely replaced, with huge steel structures erected. No idea why they renovated as the agreement is clear that the property was only for rent.
“The second house is destroyed. It’s stripped bare — ceilings are missing, the kitchen is gone, tiles are destroyed. Hi-tech security perimeter gates were erected without our knowledge. They started renovations but it looks like a war zone. It will cost R600,000 to repair.”
He said after the first year, the couple were regularly late on their rent.
“We couldn’t understand it as they were always flash with cash, driving their Porsches. We had to cut off the electricity several times.
“We became worried, but then they would suddenly start paying; then they would stop and then start again. They were meant to make a late payment two weeks ago. Getting rent from them was like a yo-yo, always up and down.”
He said Bester had a falling out with Magudumana’s brother and parents, who had moved in with them.
“Things really got bad … He kicked them out. Nandipha rented one of our other properties for them.
Looking at the identity document we have on record and the photos of him in court, you can see it is him. I met him several times when he moved back to SA from ‘overseas’ in October. He was friendly and polite. He had a ponytail and a short beard. He always wore dark sunglasses
— Property manager, 4Tune Property Smiths
“After that he rented another of our Sandown properties for a woman he said was his staff member.
"When I went to the apartment the woman said she was renting from TK and that he was the owner.
We showed her we were the owners. She was evicted after a month of nonpayment. According to Nandipha, it was his mistress. She lost it ...”
Now that the property manager has seen pictures of the fugitive, he said it is “as clear as daylight” they were dealing with the escaped convict.
“Looking at the identity document we have on record and the photos of him in court, you can see it is him.
“I met him several times when he moved back to SA from ‘overseas’ in October. He was friendly and polite. He had a ponytail and a short beard. He always wore dark sunglasses.
“We now understand why TK was always overseas. The change in Nandipha, who went from friendly when they first rented the Sandown house, to avoiding us at all costs at the Hyde Park house, makes perfect sense. She didn’t want us discovering that TK is really Bester.”
The property manager confirmed that an estate agent from a different company recently approached 4Tune Property Smiths about listing and selling the Hyde Park property on the couple’s behalf.
“We were flabbergasted. She said she was surprised we were selling as she knew we were property developers. She said TK wanted her to list the property. They were going to sell it from under us.
“We think they were doing this because they were running out of cash.”
Correctional services spokesperson Singabako Nxumalo declined to respond to questions, including a query about Bester’s real ID number.
“The investigation on Bester is ongoing. Responding to questions on a subject under an investigation is never ideal when findings are yet to be determined,” Nxumalo said.
On Saturday afternoon, the department issued a statement confirming for the first time that the DNA taken from the body in the cell did not match that of Bester’s mother.
“This is the basis upon which the department of correctional services’ investigation concluded that Bester escaped from lawful custody on May 3 2022. Critical at this stage is for Thabo Bester to be found,” it said.
“DCS is appealing to the public to assist with any information that may lead to the rearrest of Bester. Such information should be provided to the nearest police station or a correctional services facility.”
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