Police Probe Cause of Death of Corpses Linked to Thabo Bester’s Escape As Dr Nandipha Faces Murder Charges

• Police are scrambling to figure out when and how the corpses linked to Thabo Bester's prison escape died
• Bester's partner in crime, Dr Nandipha Magudumana, has been charged with murder in the Bloemfontein Magistrate's Court
• Magudumana's father and a former G4S warder have also been accused of murdering a man in Bloemfontein around March 2022

BLOEMFONTEIN - Police are racing against time to figure out how and when the corpses linked to Thabo Bester's daring prison escape died.

This comes as Bester's accomplice and girlfriend, Dr Nandipha Magudumana, was charged with murder in the Bloemfontein Magistrate's Court on Thursday, 13 April.

Police want to know when and how the bodies linked to Thabo Bester's escape died

The charges are linked to the bodies the suspended doctor claimed from Free State mortuaries weeks before the Facebook rapist's infamous escape from the Mangaung Correctional Centre on 3 May 2022, TimesLIVE reported.

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Correctional Services confirm Thabo Bester was returned to Kgosi Mampuru not Mangaung prison

According to police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe, investigations are undergoing to determine how long the bodies were in the mortuaries and whether the causes of death were conclusive for murder.

Dr Nandipha Magudumana claimed 3 bodies from Free State mortuaries

Sunday Times earlier reported the lengths Magudumana went through to secure a body double to aid her lover's escape. One of the bodies, allegedly earmarked for an earlier unsuccessful prison break attempt, was dumped in a river with the mortuary tag still attached to the corpse's foot.

Autopsy results from the third and final corpse, which was ultimately used to conceal Bester's escape, revealed that the person died from blunt-force trauma to the head.

The charge sheet for Magudumana's father, Zolile Cornelius Sekeleni, and an ex-G4S prison warder Senohe Matsoara, states that the pair allegedly killed an unknown man in and around Bloemfontein around 3 March 2022.

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Thabo Bester says he hasn’t eaten since being repatriated out of fear for his life, SA feels no sympathy

South Africans are sceptical that Dr Nandipha Magudumana's murder charges will stick

Below are some comments

Bongani Mabaso demanded:

"Death penalty should be back, these crimes can't go on like this."

Mothusi Linda Nyoka asked:

"Will the charge stand? I doubt it. Defeating the ends of justice and aiding and abetting are what I see her being charged with."

Shumani Tshivhase claimed:

"These charges won't stick, mark my words."

Benny Magejo said:

"No case here, she stole those dead bodies."

Thabo Bester and Dr Nandipha land at Lanseria Airport, Mzansi dubs the couple "Bonnie and Clyde"

In a related story, Briefly News reported that former fugitive Thabo Bester and his partner-in-crime, Dr Nandipha Magudumana, are back in South Africa.

The couple was arrested in Tanzania on 8 April alongside a Mozambican national and a delegation from South Africa was sent there to facilitate their deportation.

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Dr Nandipha replaced stolen corpses with wors and maize meal in fake burial, leaving SA with questions

According to EWN, the plane carrying Bester and Dr Nandipha landed at Lanseria International Airport early on Thursday morning.

Source: Briefly News