Where do we even begin with this one, fellow South Africans? For the last month, the nation has been enthralled by the seemingly surreal and eerie saga of convicted Facebook rapist and murderer, Thabo Bester, and his accomplice Dr Nandipha Mangudmana – a self-styled celebrity doctor and social media influencer. There are so many levels to this drama, and the more glued that I remain to eNCA’s coverage (senior reporter Sli Masikane deserves an award for her work) as it reveals the intense levels of corruption rotting at the centre of all of our institutions, the more I find myself dumbfounded by the existential dread of our world. While there are many angles to discuss – from the prison industrial complex, gender-based violence, corruption, multi-national influences on the state, murder – it seems the most obvious takeaway from all of this is; money really can buy you anything. Money, it seems, is the tool at the heart of this crime; money for its power, money for its control, scams that reap money and grease the right hands, and the way money portrays people in a different social status, and thus more favourably in the eyes of society.  

Thabo Bester, a certified scam-artist, abuser, rapist and murderer managed to run a multi-million Rand FAKE media company from the Mangaung Correctional Centre, co-conspired with Dr Nandipha, while also reportedly going and out of prison, aided by officials, for luxury long weekends in Ballito. Then, in a startingly turn of events, it was reported that in May 2022, he had died by arson-inflicted suicide in his jail cell. Well, so we thought. Rather, Thabo Bester, aided by a variety of people (Dr Nandipha, her father, prison officials and reported higher-ranking officials) was smuggled out of prison, to live thereafter in Sandton, Johannesburg in a R12 Million home, going by the name ‘TK Mkwana’. A convicted rapist and murderer was unleashed into the country, unbeknownst to his victims, or to anyone whose safety might be threatened. Not until the heroes at GroundUp, a NPO news agency, began breaking the news that we, as the public of South Africa, were brought into the fold of what Mangaung Prison (run by British conglomerate G4S, one of only two privately owned prisons in the country), G4S and the Department of Correctional Services tentatively knew about for just under a year. In a story touted by online commentators as the makings of a South African Netflix Special; Thabo Bester and Dr Nandipha were spotted via cellphone footage purchasing groceries at Woolworths in Sandton, as reported by GroundUp’s multiple instalment journalistic investigation. With metadata proving the authenticity of the image, national outrage ensued – and then, without a trace, Dr Nandipha and Thabo Bester had fled the country, becoming fugitives across the continent. Police Minister Bheki Cele quickly came to the forefront, stating various things in his multiple press conferences to assuage the public  that ‘they were close to catching them’ and that ‘police inaction was a strategic part of the investigation until now’ – in other words, the incompetence of SAPS continued to dimly light the way. If it were not for the police force in Tanzania, the discovery and arrest of Bester and Magudumana might not have taken place as it did, in the early hours of Friday morning on the 7 April near the Tanzanian and Kenyan border.

Dr Nandipha Magudumana’s father, Zolile Cornelius Sekeleni and former G4S prison warder Senohe Matsoara appeared in the Bloemfontein Magistrate's Court on 11 April 2023 /// source: @AphumeleleMdla2 / Twitter 

As officials from South Africa dispatched to Tanzania to deal with the matter, parliamentary proceedings concurrently began by the National Assembly and a host of brilliant MPs. With EFF’s Yoliswa Yako, DA’s Glynnis Breytenbach and ANC’s Anthea Ramolobeng among the members who fiercely and meticulously grilled G4S Director Cobus Groenewould, Mangaung Correctional Centre’s Director Joseph Monyante and Audit and Risk Director Gert Byleveld – these proceedings were perhaps the only comfort in this whole saga – that when truly able to, our MPs can enact on behalf of us, a commitment to truth and justice. Initially, G4S sent their legal representatives to the first meeting; much to the dismay of the National Assembly. After requesting a court summons, G4S managed to show face (and retain parliamentary privilege) – with a number of bizarre truths coming to light. The escape aside, which I implore you to read in the the incredible journalistic coverage by Ground-Up and subsequently by platforms like Mail & Guardian, eNCA, Daily Maverick and so on – Thabo Bester arrived at Mangaung Correctional Centre as a ‘high-risk prisoner’ whom guards were warned to not engage with due to manipulative tendencies. It has been reported that since 2017, Dr Nandipha had been visiting the prisoner; allegedly they met back in 2006, and have had an on and off relationship. It seems that the two have been engaged in a very long, toxic relationship – to which Tiktok commenters have been saying, “Dr Nandi, all this for a MAN?”.

The award for most luxurious prison-stays certainly goes to Bester – although, in all his narcissistic, social pariah energy – this whole circus has certainly made the secrecy-coded ndotas of the Nommer shriek with laughter, countrywide. Thabo Bester was allowed to participate in online education, as can be conducted by prisoners, and so through completing a ‘graphic design course’  was able to retain his personal laptop. The very laptop that he used to commit fraud in his various scams, even streaming live into an event for his company ‘21st Century Media’ networking event, orchestrated by he and Dr Nandipha, attended by a host of South African celebrities. Please watch the video here – of Bester under his alias ‘Tom’, being sung Happy Birthday to, suited up in what was presumably an area of the prison. You really can’t make this shit up. Bester’s business record, 21st Century Media & Sky Digital among others, are described by Mail & Guardian as blatant and almost laughable copies of legitimate companies; apparently, Bester’s graphic design course from prison taught him the subtle art of subliminal, psychological techniques in advertising; “ ‘Sky Digital’, the logo of which was displayed on a banner at the 21st Century Media launch event and bore a striking resemblance to the logo of the UK-based television network Sky News. The logos for 21st Century Media and 21st Century Group displayed on the banner were also very similar to those of their real counterparts. Promotion social media posts for the “Women in Media” conference include a logo for ‘UBS Group’, which is almost identical to the logo of the Swiss investment giant UBS.”

The R12 Million Hyde Park mansion that Bester and Magudumana occupied after his escape, and subsequently fled from when the news of their crimes broke /// source: Alaister Russell

Bonnie & Clyde sentiments aside, it appears that Dr Nandipha was a more than willing accomplice; going so far as to expose her young daughters to her relationship with Thabo Bester, when he eventually lived with them after his escape. Since her arrest, it has been reported that Dr Nandipha is bargaining with the police to expose the depth and breadth of Bester’s crimes; such as provides details on the missing domestic worker and gardener (believed to be buried at their Hyde Park mansion), and the details of how the young man identified as the burned body in Bester’s jail cell, Katlego Mpholo, arrived at the end of his life in such a cruel and sickening manner. The Mpholo family, who were informed only recently, that their missing son (whom they had been searching for since March 2022) will be suing the state, who are yet to disclose just how Katlego’s body (and the blunt force trauma identified to be the cause of death, not the fire) ended up in cell 35 at Mangaung Correctional Centre. This comes in after it has been reported that Dr Nandipha attempted to have three bodies released to her from a mortuary in Bloemfontein. So, what happened? Did they murder and hide Katlego’s body, or did they retrieve a missing person from a mortuary, despite his family continually checking morgues and hospitals since his disappearance? With so many headache-inducing details surrounding this case, I’d like to bring it back to my initial statement, one that multiple experts have weighed in on: Thabo Bester could not have done close to anything he did in and outside of prison, without bribing many, many people. Right now, the five co-accused are the low-level tip of the iceberg; with Thabo and Dr Nandipha at the centre of it. Once again, innocent people are held hostage by the corruptive transactions that have seeped their way into every aspect of our country’s institutions; whether public or private, as demonstrated by G4S’ handling of this entire debacle. If you’d like to know more about G4S, I refer you to the work of journalist Ruth Hopkins – who has spent much of her career exposing the insidious inner-workings of our prison system, least not ‘The Misery Merchants’ specifically exposing G4S and the Mangaung facility. 

This case is unfolding, with more arrests allegedly ahead – only time will tell just how much the National Prosecuting Authority will succeed in bringing the full truth to light. In its wake, this criminal saga – though Hollywood-style it seems – leaves the Mpholo family mourning their son Katlego’s life, two people potentially buried in a garden in Hyde Park, and the victims and their family’s of Thabo Bester, traumatised and confused by how a convicted prisoner could do more harm, nearly to avail. What a strange episode in South Africa’s story this is, indeed.

Featured Image of Thabo Bester by Frikkie Kapp, Gallo Images and Dr. Nandipha by Nigel Sibanda.

Written by: Holly Beaton