Thabo Bester: Here's who has been arrested and what they allegedly did

More suspects are expected to be arrested for helping  rapist-murderer Thabo Bester make his audacious escape from Mangaung maximum security prison a year ago. 

Eight accused, including Bester’s girlfriend Nandipha Magudumana, are already before the Bloemfontein magistrate’s court on 16 counts including fraud, corruption and defeating the ends of justice in relation to the escape from the jail, operated at the time by G4S. 

Police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said investigations were at “an advanced stage and we are not ruling out the possibilities or more arrests”. 

Bester was initially believed to have died during a fire in his cell. However, an autopsy revealed the body found in the cell was that of someone else — Katlego Bereng, who  had died as a result of a blow  to the head. 

Bester and Magudumana were arrested while on the run in Tanzania last month, about 10km from the Kenyan border.

A source with knowledge of the police probe told the Sunday Times that investigators were going through cellphone records in a bid to bring more accomplices to justice.

This is how the charges stack up so far:

ACCUSED 1: SENOHE MATSOARA

Matsoara, 39, a former G4S prison warder, is alleged to be the leading participant in the scheme, according to the charge sheet.

He is accused of being one of the plotters who fraudulently claimed an unidentified corpse at the Bloemfontein state mortuary, identifying it as that of Magudumana’s father (who in reality is still alive and is among the accused).

Matsoara, who was dismissed by G4S in September, was a security supervisor. He was allegedly promised R2.5m for helping in the escape, but was paid R40,000.

He posted a picture on Facebook in January 2022 of a certificate from the Volkswagen Menlyn dealership congratulating him  “on your beautiful Volkswagen T-Roc 2.0”, a car that is worth about R600,000. 

Matsoara is charged with violation of a body after the corpse obtained from the mortuary was allegedly thrown into a river. The coffin was instead filled with   rotten meat, according to the charge sheet.  

ACCUSED 2: ZOLILE CORNELIUS SEKELENI

Magudumana’s pensioner father is accused of playing a role in claiming Bereng’s then-unidentified corpse from the National District Hospital in Bloemfontein.

He has also been charged with arson for starting a fire in Bester’s cell after placing Bereng’s body on the bed.

Sekeleni, 65, is also charged with defeating the ends of justice for his role in giving the impression that Bester died in the fire.

ACCUSED 3: TEBOHO JAMES LIPHOLO

Lipholo, 44, worked for Integritron Integrated Solutions, the company that operated surveillance cameras in the  prison. He failed a lie-detector test conducted by the company in April and handed himself over to the police. 

Integriton told parliament last month that video recordings showed that on the eve of Bester’s escape, a technician entered the server room at about 7.38pm. Minutes later, certain cameras stopped working.

Lipholo was allegedly offered R2.5m but was only paid R40,000 for disconnecting the cameras and the recording systems.

ACCUSED 4: NANDIPHA MAGUDUMANA 

The doctor, 36, is considered to be the mastermind in her lover’s escape.  She is facing 11 charges including two of fraud, two of violating a body, fraud, corruption and intentionally harbouring and concealing an escaped offender, among others. 

She is accused of having offered various bribes to prison staff: Lipholo, Matsoara and R1,100 to another warder, Tieho Makhotsa. 

Magudumana is also charged with obtaining corpses and pretending to bury them, including the one that was thrown into a river.

ACCUSED 5: THABO BESTER 

Bester, 36, whose aliases include Thabo Motsepe and TK Nkwana, is accused of escaping from prison, arson, violation of a body, defeating the ends of justice and fraud, among others.

ACCUSED 6: BUTY MASEMOLA

The suspended G4S employee is charged with fraud for participating in the scheme alongside Matsoara, Sekeleni, Magudumana and Bester to collect the charred body from cell 35.

He is also charged with arson and defeating the ends of justice. 

ACCUSED 7: TIEHO FRANS MAKHOTSA 

The suspended G4S employee is facing charges of corruption, arson and defeating the ends of justice.

He was allegedly offered R1,100 for his role in the scheme, according to the charge sheet.

ACCUSED 8: NATASSJA JANSEN

Jansen, another suspended G4S employee, is charged with arson and defeating the ends of justice, and with assisting Bester escape.

Her exact role in unclear.