Thabo Bester, a South African killer who earned the moniker “Facebook Rapist” for using the social media site to entice and rape two women, has reportedly been apprehended in Tanzania, according to a report by DailyMail on Monday. Bester, who had staged his own demise to break out of jail, was given a life sentence in 2012. He was thought to have perished in a prison cell fire in May 2022. The burnt body found in the cell, however, was not his, according to a DNA analysis into recent allegations of him being seen in Johannesburg.
The police began searching for Bester two weeks ago, and last week they raided an opulent house in a posh Johannesburg neighborhood which they believed he was renting. Bester was detained together with Ms. Magudumana and a Mozambican citizen, who are thought to have assisted him in eluding border patrol and law enforcement. Many phony passports that were unstamped when they were arrested, some six kilometers from the Kenyan border, were discovered by the authorities.
Authorities have begun the procedure to repatriate the fugitives back to South Africa where they will likely face a number of crimes. An official team from South Africa, including senior officers from the police, the department of justice, and correctional services, made the arrest public, according to Justice Minister Ronald Lamola.