New photos of man resembling ‘Facebook rapist’ two months after supposed death raise troubling questions

GroundUp has seen photographs of a man who closely resembles “Facebook rapist” Thabo Bester shopping at Woolworths in Sandton City nearly two months after his reported death in prison. The photograph shows him with long hair, wearing a tracksuit and sunglasses.

The photographs, taken on 30 June 2022, add to the mystery surrounding Bester’s reported death. On 3 May 2022, the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) announced Bester had died in a prison fire in Mangaung. But several elements suggest that he may have escaped from prison and that the body found after the fire may be that of another man.

In the pictures sent to GroundUp, the man is accompanied by a child who looks like the photos of the daughter of celebrity doctor Nandipha Magudumana on Magudumana’s Instagram page. A woman in a cream-coloured outfit stands with her back to the camera.

The metadata of the photos confirms that they were taken in Sandton City. GroundUp has spoken to two people who knew Bester who said they are convinced he is the man in the photos.

A close-up of the man believed to be Bester. (Photo: Supplied)

A close-up from the second image. (Photo: Supplied)

• Bester was moved into the cell soon before the fire;


• The man who died did not die from the fire but from a blow to the head;


• Minutes before the prison fire, two people were seen leaving the prison;


• CCTV cameras were apparently not correctly positioned;


• The height of the body recorded during the autopsy was 25cm shorter than Bester’s height displayed in a police mugshot;


• The DNA of the body did not match that of the woman who claims to be Bester’s mother; and


• To our knowledge, the body has not yet been positively identified as Bester (if it has, neither the police nor DCS have told us).

A mugshot taken of Bester around the time of his trial. Note that his height is above 1.7m. (Source: Used by several newspapers in 2011 without attribution – copied for fair use)

• The photos leaked to GroundUp could be fake (very unlikely), or it could be someone else in the pictures;


• The woman claiming to be Bester’s mother may not be his biological mother, explaining the DNA discrepancy;


• The coroner could have made a mistake when measuring the height of the body during the autopsy; or


• The people who left the prison just before the fire may be unconnected to Bester.