Africa-Press – South-Africa. Private security company Fidelity ADT has offered a R100 000 cash reward for information that leads to the arrest of Thabo Bester.
Bester, also known as the Facebook Rapist, has been on the run since it came to light he had escaped from Mangaung Correctional Centre in May 2022.
He was believed to have died in a fire on 3 May, because a body was found in his holding cell. In October 2022, DNA showed the body was not that of Bester, but an unknown man.
Earlier this month, it was discovered Bester was not only alive and free, but living in palatial homes all over the wealthy neighbourhoods of Johannesburg.
A team from Fidelity ADT was working with the police to trace the 34-year-old, who was given a life sentence for rape and murder in 2012.
In 2022, Fidelity CEO Wahl Bartmann put up a R100 000 award for information leading to the arrest of a man who was setting fire to plush homes in the northern suburbs.
The man has since been arrested and is awaiting trial.
Bartmann said he hoped this reward would be just as helpful.
Meanwhile at a media briefing at a correctional facility in the Free State on Wednesday, the acting national correctional services commissioner, Makgothi Thobakgale, said the department had informed the public about Bester’s escape in a speedy manner.
He added the department only received the final report on 22 March 2023, and informed the public about the escape on 25 March.
The media, however, broke the story.
“Today is 30 March and we are informing the public [again]. So, you can check the speed that we’re dealing with this,” Thobakgale said.
The briefing was held to inform the public the department was employing a temporary manager to perform the duties of the G4S director.
This means the prison is now under the direct control of the department.
For More News And Analysis About South-Africa Follow Africa-Press
