The Department of Correctional Services has urged anyone with information about the convicted murderer and rapist, Thabo Bester’s whereabouts to come forward as they consider him to be “extremely dangerous.”
This is after the department confirmed on Saturday that Bester escaped from the Mangaung Prison in May 2022, where he was serving a life sentence for rape and murder.
Prison officials had announced that Bester died on the day of his escape when a body was found burnt beyond recognition in his prison cell that caught fire.
However, earlier in March, a man who resembled Bester was spotted at a shopping mall.
Department spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said recent DNA results revealed that the charred body was not that of Bester.
The department further said that the post-mortem report indicated that the body that was found in the cell did not have any signs of smoke inhalation, but sustained injuries to the head before its death, and was already in the early stages of decomposition.
“When it transpired that there were quite a number of questions, that led us to… conduct DNA sequencing to see what happened or to see if the person we are dealing with is the inmate who had been reported to have died.”
Nxumalo also pointed out that DNA sequencing with the person identified to be the mother of Thabo Bester failed to indicate a common ancestor or a match.
“Therefore, a plausible conclusion will mean that the body is not that of Thabo Bester,” said Nxumalo.
The department has not disclosed when they were aware that Bester was at large.
This is despite Correctional Services saying for months that the investigations were ongoing in response to a Ground Up investigation that blew a lid on the matter.
At the same time, a specialized police team has been set up to probe Bester’s escape in police custody.
“We are making an appeal to the public to assist should they locate him or if they spot him anywhere, to report that to the nearest police station or in any of our correctional facilities. It’s a priority for us to get him behind bars as we consider him to be extremely dangerous,” said Nxumalo.
-EWN
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