Police raid Facebook Rapist Thabo Bester’s ‘hideout’ weeks after he fled
By Staff Writer
The police have carried out a raid at the last known residence of fugitive Thabo Bester, a street away from President Cyril Ramaphosa’s house, and two blocks from the home Julius Malema rents from tobacco dealer Adriano Mazzotti.
The plush Hyde Park home was vacated two weeks ago after GroundUp lifted the lid on Bester’s escape from the Mangaung Correctional Centre on 3 May 2022.
News24 understands the raid by the police and a forensics team began on Tuesday afternoon and officers were said to be searching for the helper who had not been seen since the pair left.
Authorities were not giving much away on record.
Responding to queries, national police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said they would not be giving information on every step of the case.
“As the SAPS, we are reiterating that we won’t at this stage give a blow-by-blow update on the progress of investigations. We once again urge the media to give the detectives space to do their work,” she added.
Bester, who was sentenced to life for rape and murder, is believed to have shared the Hyde Park home with aesthetic doctor Nandipha Magudumana and her young children.
Magudumana was remodelling the next-door property for a clinic, but the home was left an empty shell with rubble in the exterior.
While it was not yet clear what the forensics team was looking for, its task may be complicated by the many feet that have stepped through the door before them.
When News24 visited the palatial residence and the adjacent clinic last week, the owners of the property had a maintenance team doing tasks such as repainting the interiors, fixing the floors, and cleaning up lights.
Not only was News24 and other media able to enter both premises, but potential renters had been viewing the property too.
At the time, News24 also noted a pile of burned documents and electronics, including phones, had been left outside the clinic which was under construction.
–News24
