Thabo Bester, a notorious South African fugitive and his partner Dr. Nandipha Magudumana, along with a Mozambican national Zakaria Alberto, have been arrested in Tanzania by the Tanzania Police Force. Bester, who was believed to have died in a prison fire, had escaped from a South African prison in May last year and has been linked to several heinous crimes in South Africa, including rape and murder, and is known in some media as the ‘Facebook rapist’.
The couple, along with their Mozambican guide, were reportedly heading to the Kenya border when they were apprehended. The arrest came after various South African online outlets reported that the fugitive pair had been spotted in Tanzania. Police minister Bheki Cele said that the couple was arrested with a Mozambican who is believed to have aided them in their two-week-long run from authorities.
A team will be dispatched to Tanzania on Sunday to process the fugitives’ return to South Africa. Explaining the difference between extradition and deportation, minister of justice and correctional services Ronald Lamola said that the pair were in Tanzania illegally and would have to be deported back to South Africa. Bester had been charged, tried, convicted and sentenced, and his escape from custody means that the process should not be difficult in his case.
The police minister added that it was not yet clear what the movements of the fugitives had been up until they were apprehended on Friday night, “but what is certain is that their method of entering Tanzania was illegal. There is not a single stamp on the passports that they had when they were apprehended. They were 10km away from Kenya when they were arrested and it looks like they were heading for the next country.”
Local and international legal arrangements are currently underway. The arrest of Bester and Magudumana in Tanzania is seen as a significant breakthrough in the hunt for the fugitive pair.
Source – Masimba News