Thabo Bester: Burnt Body in Mangaung Prison Cell Identified, Distraught Father Speaks Out: “I Need the Truth”

• The police have positively identified the burnt body that was found in Thabo Bester's prison cell last year
• The man was identified as Katlego Bereng, and his father spoke about his son's disappearance months before Thabo Bester's escape
• The father said he needs the truth from the police because he does not believe the current story about his son's death

BLOEMFONTEIN - The burnt body that Thabo Bester used to fake his death and escape from the Mangaung Correctiontional Centre on May 3, 2022, has been identified as Katlego Bereng.

Katlego Bereng's father heartbroken about his son's death

The 31-year-old was reported missing last year in April after he had been missing for a month. Bereng's father, Batho Mpholo, spoke to ENCA and said the police contacted Bereng's mother a week ago and tested her DNA against the charred body discovered in cell 35.

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Mpholo confirmed that on Friday afternoon, the Bloemfontein police informed him that the DNA results had returned and proved that the burnt body was of their missing son, reported News24.

Mpholo said Bereng's mother is distraught and can't even talk to him on the phone because she is so emotional. He said the family plans on going to the police on Monday to get more information, "I need the truth and nothing but the truth."

The father mentioned that the government failed his family because the information they gave his family regarding the circumstances around his son's death was not true.

"I have this view because, from what we see when we reported him missing and the information that we are getting that he collapsed in town, it is not true. And again, how did Thabo Bester get a hold of my son's body if he was in a government mortuary?"

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He added that after reporting him missing, the mother and grandmother went to several mortuaries to look for their missing son.

"There was no sign of his in any mortuary. But why now?"

When asked about what kind of person his son was, the distraught father said:

"Katlego was a fun-loving person, making friends here and there, soccer-loving people. And, yes he had two kids a son and a daughter."

SA citizens call for justice for Katlego Bereng

People flooded social media with messages of condolences for Bereng's family. Many said the police must be transparent about how he died and ended up at the Bloemfontein maximum prison.

Makakarabo Kheswa mentioned:

"Can the police put in the same energy to find Senzo Meyiwa and AKA killers."

Codnell Makaringe wrote:

"The corruption, and incompetence of the police is getting exposed. They couldn’t identify the body for the whole year. Condolences to the family, truly this dude is a fighter, while dead."

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Poppy Mhlubulwana commented:

"How did the mortuary release the body, that morgue must be held accountable."

Malusi Shumane added:

"The state under the corrupt ANC must be sued for billions."

Trish Posthumus posted:

"Sir, you and your family deserve nothing but the truth. May your son's dear soul rest in peace."

Ndini Wacho said:

"Sad he needs justice."

Thabo Bester ranks 2nd-highest in internet searches in South Africa, Google search data reveals

In a related article, Briefly News reported that The daring escape of Thabo Bester has been all South Africans can talk about lately, and it shows in the county's collective search engine history.

Google has just dropped its search data for March and the highlights show what had the nation intrigued and curious last month.

Source: Briefly News