DNA 'doesn't confirm' body found in prison is Thabo Bester's: Bheki Cele

Police minister Bheki Cele says police are searching for convicted rapist and murderer Thabo Bester after DNA seemingly confirmed the charred body found in a Bloemfontein prison last year was not his.

Cele was briefing the media on Friday on the police's readiness before Monday's planned “national shutdown” by the EFF when he was questioned about claims that Bester may be alive.

“We have the ... head of intelligence in the province [Gauteng] and the detectives, they are working on the matter. Already they are finding some indications, including the DNA does not confirm that's the same person,” he said.

“It looks like [the] DNA doesn't confirm that the person that was found dead there is the same person. So it might be correct to say that somebody is out there. That's why the police are investigating ... [and] trying to find that person.”

Pressed on whether a warrant of arrest has been issued for Bester, Cele said: “The police are doing investigations and, as I said, there are steps that have already been taken.

“One step taken is that it looks like the DNA confirms the person who died there is not the person you expect. The police are on the tracks [and] chasing and trying to find that person again.”

The department of correctional services (DCS) said in May last year Bester was found dead in his single cell at Mangaung prison in Bloemfontein at about 3.35am. At the time the department said his cell caught fire and he sustained “some burn wounds”.

A prison warder told TimesLIVE he didn't believe the body found in the cell was that of Bester. The warder, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of being victimised, said on the day of the fire Bester was suddenly moved to a single cell.

“He was not in a single cell all along, so I think this was part of the plan when he was moved so that other people would not see the shenanigans,” the warder said.

He alleged the body of a vagrant was brought into the single cell while Bester was “allowed” to escape.

“The autopsy showed the person who burnt in the cell was already dead, so they brought in a dead body,” he alleged.

GroundUp on Wednesday reported it had uncovered “new evidence” that cast doubt on Bester's death in his prison cell. According to the site, CCTV cameras captured people leaving the prison hastily in the early hours on the day of the fire.

They claimed a postmortem report revealed the person whose body was found died before the fire broke out and was killed by a “blunt force injury to the head”.

GroundUp later reported a man “closely resembling” Bester was spotted shopping in Sandton and is allegedly linked to high-profile aesthetics doctor Nandipha Magudumana.

The publication said Magudumana apparently met him in 2006 while she was studying at Wits and “rekindled” their relationship almost a decade later while he was in prison. 

A lawyer representing Magudumana declined to comment. “I can't divulge anything. It's a story from journalists, nothing has been verified so we're not going to comment,” he told TimesLIVE.

Bester was first convicted of raping and robbing two aspirant models whom he had approached, pretending to be a model scout.

In a separate trial he was convicted of robbing and murdering a third woman, Nomfundo Tyhulu. He claimed the two of them had been in a long-distance relationship and he killed her when she came to visit him, robbing her of her items and leaving her body in a Cape Town guest house. 

He was 22 and 23 when he committed the crimes.

Bester was sentenced to more than 50 years' imprisonment, which was later reduced to 30 years. For Tyhulu's murder, he was sentenced to life.

Correctional Services said in a statement on Friday that “the investigation on the death of Bester has not been concluded and the autopsy report has not been tabled before the department”.

“The investigation is ongoing and there are no new developments... It would be irresponsible for DCS to respond on unconfirmed or unofficial reports.

“The matter has become a subject of public interest and the department is pressing on the investigation team to conclude its work so that the findings can be made available.”

— Additional reporting by Belinda Pheto

TimesLIVE