Zimbabwean Man Becomes 9th Person Arrested in Thabo Bester Case, Charged With Helping Prisoner Escape

• The South African Police Service has made their ninth arrest in connection with the Thabo Bester saga
• The Zimbabwean man currently faces charges of helping a prisoner escape from lawful custody
• The police are expecting to make more arrests in connection to the case as more people are coming up in the investigation

BLOEMFONTEIN - The South African Police Service (SAPS) on Sunday made their ninth arrest of a Zimbabwean national in the Thabo Bester case.

Bester escaped from the Mangaung Correctional Centre (MCC) on 3 May 2022, but was nearly a year later sighted in a supermarket with celebrity Dr Nandipha Magudumane. Their sighted following a GroundUp report sparked a national investigation.

Thabo Bester makes brazen prison break by faking his own death in prison cell number 35

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It has come to light that there are currently nine people who allegedly assisted the convict with the escape, which was covered up by burning a body to stage his death. The body was later identified as Katlego Bareng, a Free State man who had been missing for months.

Thabo’s identity has been a concern as it was believed that he didn’t have an identity document. News24 however recently reported in the video below that he was eventually identified:

Other arrests are expected as more people keep coming up in the investigation

The SAPS has made several arrests since Bester and his lover, Dr Nandipha, were captured in Tanzania.

National Police Commissioner Fanie Masemola told media in a TimesLIVE report that more arrests are expected in the case:

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“We are investigating. There are a lot of people involved in this investigation.”

Masemola said the Zimbabwean man is expected to appear in the Bloemfontein Magistrate's Court on Tuesday:

“At this stage, he faces a charge of assisting an inmate to escape from lawful custody. The suspect is likely to face more charges.”

Top investigator in the Thabo Bester saga commits suicide

As more and more arrests are being made, Briefly News reported that one of the leading investigators died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The investigator was also the provincial head of organised crime in the Free State and was described to be a hard-working and dedicated member of the police force who served loyally for 31 years. His death sparked speculations across the country.

Source: Briefly News