By Zukile Majova
Political Editor
Police have seized a white Porsche Cayenne they believe belongs to Dr Nandipha Magudumana and arrested its driver.
Sensationally, police have also arrested another suspect — an employee who works for a company that installs cameras in Mangaung Correctional Centre. That is the maximum security prison Bester escaped from last year.
Magudumana, known widely as Dr Nandi, is the lover and coconspirator of Facebook rapist Thabo Bester.
The infamous couple was arrested in Tanzania last Friday following news that Bester had escaped from Mangaung Correctional Centre in Bloemfontein.
Police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe said the driver of the Porsche Cayenne is a 28-year-old man and is currently in custody.
“Another suspect has been arrested in Bloemfontein. He is an employee contracted to a company that installs and maintains cameras at Mangaung prison.”
CCTV cameras at the prison took centre stage on Wednesday when Members of Parliament grilled G4S directors for the brazen escape on 3 May 2022.
Before escaping, the MPs heard that Bester was moved to Cell 35, a “blind spot” cell for cameras in the prison which made it easy for the murderer to escape undetected by fellow inmates.
G4S directors told parliament they had no footage after their CCTV cameras malfunctioned or were disconnected on the day of Bester’s escape.
The failure of the CCTV system also means G4S could not account for how a burnt body was smuggled into prison undetected.
Democratic Alliance MP Glynnis Breytenbach was scathing.
“There’s the corpse substitution. Who is that person in the cell? Where did they come from? Did they come from inside your prison or else your headcount wouldn’t have matched. Did they come in from the outside, how? Did they walk in, were they murdered in the prison, did they come in dead? You can’t answer any of these questions. A year and a bit later you don’t know?”
MPs also heard that an unauthorised vehicle was allowed to enter the prison, just days before Bester’s infamous prison break.
Regional commercial director for G4S Africa, Cobus Groenewoud said: “The observation notice states that a vehicle was driven through the Sally Port gate without a gate pass on 29 April 2022.”
On Tuesday, Dr Nandipha’s father Zolile Sekeleni and former G4S employee Senohe Matsoara appeared at Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court charged with murder, arson, fraud and defeating the ends of justice.
Pictured above: Two more suspects in the Thabo Bester prison break case were arrested on Wednesday
Image source: SAPS
