Thabo Bester was a convicted rapist and murderer in South Africa who gained notoriety for his crimes. He was reportedly born on November 5, 1979, to parents who were educators and supported him from a young age [5]. Before being convicted on two counts of rape in Durban in 2011, Bester had turned to a life of crime as a means of supporting himself [4]. He used the social media platform Facebook to lure women by claiming that international modelling scouts were interested in them, after which he would rape and rob them using a knife. He also murdered at least one of his victims [7].
After his conviction, Bester was reportedly serving a life sentence at the Mangaung Correctional Centre, a private maximum-security prison operated by multinational company G4S [2][3][8][10]. However, in March 2023, it was reported that Bester had allegedly died in a prison cell fire, although his body was not found [6]. Further investigations have uncovered evidence that suggests he may still be alive [9].
In addition to his criminal activities, it was reported that Bester also headed up a glamorous media company from prison under various aliases [6][8]. His fraudulent schemes reportedly involved multiple fake companies, including ones with names that resembled those of established financial and casting agencies [8].
Bester’s name has recently been linked to that of Dr Nandipha Magudumana, a celebrity aesthetics doctor based in Sandton, who claimed his body after the prison cell fire and has claimed to be his customary law wife [9][10]. She has been accused of assisting him in his fraudulent schemes and of continuing to contact women under dubious claims [6].
The current status of Thabo Bester, a convicted rapist and murderer in South Africa, is unclear and controversial. According to reports, Bester escaped from the Mangaung Correctional Centre on May 3, 2022, and the Department of Correctional Services issued a statement saying that Bester was found dead in his cell at the same facility [[1][4]]. However, there are contradicting reports that suggest Bester is alive, and there are even rumors that he faked his death to escape from prison [[2][3][5][6][7][10]]. Autopsy reports indicate that the body found in Bester’s cell was dead before the fire broke out, and DNA tests conducted on the body did not confirm that it was Bester’s [[5][9]]. There are also reports that people have had encounters with him recently, including a viral image where a man resembling him is in the company of a celebrity doctor shopping at a supermarket in Sandton [[3][5]]. Overall, the status of Thabo Bester remains uncertain, and the situation continues to be investigate