On top of his many misdemeanours, “Facebook rapist” and murderer Thabo Bester has a lively imagination and penchant for luxury cars and pricey homes.
He also has a phantom brother and can’t spell his “common law” wife’s surname. A lawyer he tried to trick into giving Dr Nandipha Magadumana power of attorney to claim his fictitious assets worth more than R3bn, which he claimed were seized by the state, called his bluff.
The Sunday Times can reveal that around 2018, Bester hired various law firms around South Africa to uplift his court file at the high court in Cape Town, allegedly with the intention of appealing his sentence and seeking a transfer to another prison.
It appears Bester hired at least three reputable law firms in Cape Town and KwaZulu-Natal. In correspondence with one of the lawyers, he posed as “Tom Motsepe”, Bester’s “brother” based in America.
The Sunday Times has seen a copy of this correspondence and also a “Katlego Tom Motsepe” identity document bearing Bester’s face, which was submitted to a lawyer alongside a fictitious Asset Forfeiture Unit document.
The document was purportedly certified at the department of justice and constitutional development’s “regional procurement office” in Cape Town on May 5 2021.
He claimed the AFU had seized billions of rand worth of his assets.
In a document dated December 20 2021 that he sent to the lawyer, “Motsepe” claimed that a settlement had been reached with Bester for the release of part of his assets. “Motsepe” requested the lawyer to give power of attorney to Magudumana, who has been thrust into the centre of the saga, to claim the assets on Bester’s behalf. The alleged AFU settlement is “signed” by the deputy national director of public prosecutions at the AFU, advocate Ouma Rabaji-Rasethaba.
Though the document is on a National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) letterhead, a couple of things give Bester away.
There are glaring spelling errors. He referred to Magudumana as “Dr N Manguduana Motsepe”. The document also had no reference number or case number and is scant on details.
“On 25 October 2011, the AFU of the National Prosecuting Authority obtained a preservation order, in terms of the provisions of Chapter 6 of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act, 121 of 1988 (POCA), in the High Court, Gauteng Division, Pretoria, to freeze an amount of R3,978,657,546.00 held TOM K MOTSEPE and under BSB IPC Group,” the document reads.
“Motsepe” goes on to list shares in various mining companies worth hundreds of millions of rand that he claimed had been seized by the AFU. He also lists pricey homes in upmarket Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban — including one in Constantia worth R49m.
He claimed the AFU had seized 14 cars, including a Bentley Bentayga W12 worth R7m, a Bentley Continental GT V8 worth R9m and Mercedes-Maybach GLS 600 worth R9.5m.
Bester claimed that $487,919.90 in his Citibank account was frozen by the AFU as well R43,848,444.12 in an HSBC account, $13,808,044.10 in his NatWest account and R872,393,984.91 in his Absa account.
The lawyer, who did not want to be named, then realised that Motsepe was actually Bester and dropped him. This week, Mthunzi Mhaga, the spokesperson for the NPA, dismissed the claims.
“That is not advocate Rabaji’s signature and there are no records of such a settlement at AFU,” said Mhaga.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.