Africa-Press – South-Africa. Convicted rapist and murderer Thabo Bester told the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday that R30 million worth of money and luxury goods had gone missing when he and his lover, Dr Nandipha Magudumana, were arrested in Tanzania in April.
However, SAPS national commissioner Fannie Masemola has rubbished the claims on Saturday.
He said police are only in possession of two cellphones and a laptop that were confiscated from the couple at Lanseria Airport in Gauteng.
“On arrival at Lanseria Airport, police confiscated two cellphones and a laptop. That’s what we know and what we are aware of. That was the only property that was given to us by the Department of Home Affairs on [Bester’s] arrival in Lanseria,” Masemola added.
He said they were aware that the delegation that went to Tanzania had been told by police there that Bester had paid a lawyer with watches.
“We don’t know how many, but we are aware that he paid a lawyer with watches. If he had cash on him, how would he then pay for a lawyer for consultation with watches instead of paying cash?”
Masemola added:
The couple fled SA after news broke that Bester had not died in a fire in his cell in May 2022 and that he had been living outside the prison with Magudumana and her children in Hyde Park, Johannesburg.
On Tuesday, Bester and Magudumana reunited to court for the first time since their arrests made headlines in April.
During the court proceedings, Bester’s penchant for the finer things became more apparent when his lawyer claimed that money and goods worth over R30 million had gone missing when law enforcement officers arrested him and Magudumana.
The list of items, including six watches worth over R2.5 million each, dwarfed the cost of his T-shirt and sweater significantly.
If his claims are accurate, Bester had movable assets worth more than R30 million on him, depending on the rand exchange rate with various currencies.
Many of these items – like rental properties and vehicles – would probably have been acquired during the year he was out of prison.
However, Bester had also allegedly run several scams from prison.
He has been accused of a number of dodgy deals, including a glitzy Women in Media scam event on 13 June 2018 – which included high society celebrities and media – organised by his fake 21st Century Media company.
The company was meant to look like a subsidiary of 21st Century Fox, and the event was held at the Hilton Hotel in Sandton. At the time, Bester was using the alias Tom Motsepe, and posed as a wealthy businessman spending his time in New York.
The event fell on Bester’s birthday, and he appeared on camera while he was imprisoned at the Mangaung Correctional Centre – unbeknown to those who attended the event – and had the attendees sing happy birthday to him.
The event was meant to have Oprah and Halle Berry as guest speakers, with tickets costing R1 250 each. These celebrities never appeared.
One woman said she had given “Motsepe” R17 million toward the media company and the event, money she did not recover.
Another well-known celebrity said she gave “Motsepe” R10 million toward his business endeavours.
All have the same story. They met online, fell for the millionaire living in New York, and were eventually told that he was in prison serving time for someone else.
On Tuesday, Bester claimed the following was missing after his arrest:
He claims the following amounts of cash was also taken:
Bester has opened a case at the Lanseria police station.
The 12 accused will be back in court on 11 October.
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