Home Affairs Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has revealed that convicted rapist and murderer, Thabo Bester, is not registered as a South African in the National Population Register.
Thabo Bester prison escape
Motsoaledi on Friday briefed the media in Pretoria on the identification and travel documents of Bester and his lover, Dr Nandipha Magudumana.
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This comes after Bester’s re-arrest in Tanzania last Friday following his escape from the Mangaung Correctional Centre in Bloemfontein in May 2022 after faking his death.
The so-called Facebook rapist, who lured his victims through the social media platform, was deported to South Africa on Thursday alongside Magudumana. The celebrity doctor is accused of aiding and abetting Bester’s daring and elaborate escape from prison.
According to Motsoaledi, home affairs officials established that Bester was born on 13 June 1986 at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto.
However, he does not have an identity document, is not registered on the asylum seeker and refugee database, nor on the Visa database.
The Department of Home Affairs also attempted to trace Bester with an alias he had used. However, this also revealed no results.
“Thabo never registered with any home affairs at any stage. So, the only place where you could find him, as police have said, was in correctional services when he was an inmate. That’s where you’ll find his fingerprints and photo and the South African Police Service’s crime database,” said Motsoaledi.
He added: “The only other place where you could find Thabo Bester is Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital.”
The minister also confirmed that the convict doesn’t have an ID, marriage certificate, or passport from home affairs.
“He simply did not exist in our systems. So, he doesn’t have a passport at all with home affairs,” he said.
This is a developing story. More to follow.
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