A gentleman who successfully fled from a South African prison by simulating his fiery demise recently made an appearance in front of the Bloemfontein Magistrates Court on Friday.
Thabo Bester, along with his partner, well-known doctor Nandipha Magudumana, had been evading authorities until they were apprehended in Tanzania over the weekend. Bester will now be confronted with additional charges of fraud, obstructing justice, escaping from custody, and desecrating a corpse.
Bester was convicted on one count of murder and two counts of rape and sentenced in 2012. But he was formally declared dead by suicide after the fire in his cell at the Mangaung Correctional Centre in Free State Province nearly a year ago.
A prison guard and Magudumana’s father were charged with murder in connection with the body found burned beyond recognition in Bester’s cell. The unidentified man died of blunt force trauma to the head before the fire, police said.
Details of the plot were only made public and pieced together in the past three weeks and critics allege officials intentionally covered up the story.