In June 2011, Westville Girls' High School pupil Anastasia Jennifer Lite, who was then 17, was almost a victim of “Facebook rapist” Thabo Bester when she agreed to meet him at a hotel in Durban for an interview for a role in an MTV show.
Lite, who now lives in the UK where she is studying for an MBA at Oxford University, told the Sunday Times Bester had contacted her on Facebook.
“When he contacted me on Facebook we had a couple of mutual friends, which is what I used to deduce if someone was legit or not. I had been doing promotions, being an extra in adverts and music videos. A lot of work back then would have been through word of mouth.”
Listen to her speak:
Under the name of Tom Bester, with a profile picture of Jesus being embraced by his followers, the rapist and murderer messaged Lite saying he was the CEO of BSB Media Group. He said he was recruiting people for an Africa-based MTV show called Virgin Live.
“He said I should come to one of the hotels in Durban and he would have the interview set up. I didn’t think too much about it because this is how we would get invited to casting calls and things back in the day.”
After submitting some of her details to Bester, Lite spoke to her mother about the opportunity.
“She said I should have a phone call with him first before I go with him to this place.
“I had a call with him and he was extremely well-spoken. In all the questions I asked he had very good answers — so I was pretty much set to go to this interview.”
Bester later messaged her to say he was in Durban on July 8 2011.
But fate had other plans for Lite on the day as her mother fell ill and was unable to take her to meet Bester — something she is now extremely grateful for.
“I am incredibly thankful and grateful that I ended up not going that day. It was just by pure luck that my mother was ill. If I had gone things could have turned out very differently for me.”
Lite said she has been following the news of Bester’s escape closely.
“I am completely shocked. I think we always think of South Africa being a bit of a lawless place but there’s still certain things you take for granted — like if someone is in a maximum security cell, you think they’re going to stay there.
"So it’s been shocking and disheartening, the fact that he has ruined so many people’s lives, that he’s able to continue with it, the fact that he was running a company from prison, it’s really infuriating.”
Lite said she had little faith that Bester would be rearrested.
“I’m really not sure, the fact that he managed to get this far and do all of these things in front of everyone’s eye — I don’t know ... I am not very hopeful.”
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