Two men appeared in the Bloemfontein magistrate's court on Tuesday — one Dr Nandipha Magudumana's father Zolile Sekeleni, the other the fired G4S prison guard Senohe Matsoara, who allegedly helped Thabo Bester escape from Mangaung Correctional Centre in May 2022.

Looking at the fired guard's social media posts, a picture develops, from a frustrated taxpayer who described himself as “stingy” in 2021, to a man who spoilt himself and his partner to lavish steak and Moët dinners, spa treatments and VIP sections at fancy events. 

However in January 2022, four months before Bester's outrageous escape from the prison where Matsoara worked, he bought a Volkswagen T-Roc R-line valued at R650,000 without add-ons.

The lavish lifestyle had begun.

VIP tickets to the DStv Delicious Food and Music Festival in September 2022 cost R2,000 each, then dinners at the fancy New York restaurant in Bloemfontein where a bottle of Moet champagne — which they popped on Valentine's Day — cost R1,500.

Matsoara and his partner's outings seemed to improve considerably, even after he was dismissed by G4S in September due to the Bester escape. 

Three independent sources informed TimesLIVE Investigations that Matsoara was not scheduled to be on duty on the night of Bester’s escape, yet he reported for the shift.

When TimesLIVE contacted Matsoara for comment, he denied being on duty that night but a logbook entry, seen by journalist Oliver Meth, shows he did report for work. Follow-up calls were met with him telling the reporter in Setswana to f*** off before he ended the call.

Now Matsoara has been charged with murder, arson, fraud and defeating the ends of justice.

According to the charge sheet, the state alleges that on or around March 3 2022 Matsoara and Dr Nandipha's father killed an unknown man in or around Bloemfontein and used the body to help Bester escape prison in May.

Matsoara stared straight at the cameras during his court appearance and only showed emotion when he interacted with a woman member of the public, believed to be his partner, who had her face covered.

His matter was postponed to April 17 for further investigations and a possible bail application.

TimesLIVE