By Ntombi Mhlongo
The South African Police Service (SAPS) are closing the net on those linked to the escape of convicted rapist Thabo Bester.
The latest is that two more people have been arrested in the case. In a press statement issued on Monday, the SAPS gave the update that two former employees who were dismissed by G4S were arrested on the same day at their place of residence in Bloemfontein.
According to the statement, the pair will appear before the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, May 3, 2023, on a charge of assisting an inmate to escape from lawful custody and defeating the ends of justice.
Read More: Minister defends Thabo Bester’s E1.4 million flight bill
The SAPS team investigating this case have so far arrested eight suspects and cannot rule out the possibility of effecting more arrests.
Some of the already arrested persons include a 44-year-old man who appeared before the Bloemfontein Magistrate Court two weeks ago.
The suspect was said to be an employee contracted to a company that installs and maintains cameras at the Mangaung Correctional Centre. He faces a charge of aiding and abetting a convicted prisoner to escape from lawful custody, defeating the ends of justice as well as violating a dead body.
Read More: South Africa added to grey list
The case has also seen North West police seizing a white Porsche Cayenne vehicle believed to belong to Bester’s accomplice Dr Nandipha Magudumana.
The vehicle, according to the press statement, was seized by the Gauteng SAPS Tracking Team in Lichtenburg, North West.
Since the arrests began, the SAPS have encouraged those who know anyone involved to hand themselves over to authorities.
