A 35-year-old convicted rapist and murderer, Thabo Bester, who was serving a life sentence in a South African jail for heinous crimes, has been arrested in Tanzania after escaping the prison by faking his death with the help of guards. Bester was apprehended along with his girlfriend, Dr. Nandipha Magudumana, and a Mozambican national named Zakaria Alberto, and they are being deported to South Africa.
CNN reported that the trio had several passports each that were not stamped and were just 10 kilometres away from crossing into Kenya when they were arrested by Tanzanian authorities on Friday. South African police minister Bheki Cele revealed that Bester and his accomplices were caught with the help of an international operation and urged other countries to cooperate in the fight against crime.
Bester was sent to the Kgosi Mampuru Central Maximum Prison in Pretoria, where he will be closely monitored with 24-7 surveillance and contact with highly trained Correctional Services officials to prevent any security breaches. Makgothi Thobakgale, the boss of South Africa's Department of Correctional Services (DCS), assured reporters in Cape Town that Bester's movements would be closely watched to avoid another escape.
Bester's girlfriend, Dr. Nandipha Magudumana, who was also arrested, has been deported. Her father is accused of assisting Bester's prison break. According to the BBC, Bester was on the run for a year after it was believed that he died by setting himself on fire in his prison cell in the South African city of Bloemfontein. A manhunt was launched last month after a new post-mortem investigation revealed that the body was not actually his.
The capture of Thabo Bester highlights the importance of international cooperation in the fight against crime. The South African authorities must also take stringent measures to prevent such escapes from happening in the future, and the correctional services must be held accountable for any lapses in security.