The convicted murderer and rapist escaped from prison by faking his death. During just over a year on the run, he lived under a false identity. Now Thabo “The Rapist from Facebook” Bester is behind bars again. Thabo Bester tricked his victims through contact on Facebook. When he created trust in his victims, he raped and robbed them. In 2010 he was convicted of raping and robbing two women, two years later he was convicted again. This time for raping and murdering his then-girlfriend. The court case received a lot of media attention and in the columns Thabo Bester was nicknamed “The Rape Man from Facebook”. When the prison sentence was determined, it could mean the end of interest in Thabo Bester’s criminal career. Reported dead But last spring came the next dramatic twist, when it was reported how Thabo was found dead in his cell after setting himself on fire. As the year drew to a close, however, doubts were raised. Local media began to question his death, and there were reports that he had been seen in Johannesburg. In the new homicide investigation that followed, DNA tests showed that the unrecognizable body found in the cell was not Thabo – and that the person had in fact died of blunt force trauma to the head. Last week, almost a year after Thabo faked his death, police raided a property in an upscale Johannesburg suburb. But Thabo managed to escape prison once more. Arrested in Tanzania After a two-week manhunt, Thabo was arrested on Friday in Tanzania near the border with Kenya, together with his girlfriend and a man who is suspected of having helped the couple escape across the border. In connection with the arrest, several fake passports were also found. On Sunday, South Africa’s Minister of Justice announced that all three would be brought to the country on the same day, where Thabo and his companions will again be brought to justice. The case has raised questions as to whether staff at the prison were involved, three employees were fired when it was discovered that Thabo had managed to escape. South African authorities have now taken over responsibility for the prison, which was previously run privately by a British security company.
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