01x04 - Episode 4

[bunniefuu]

They finally

Identified who it was

That burned down in the cell,

That was allegedly thabo bester.

Football, jokes,

Singing.. Till he died.

Whose body was finally

Been laid to rest.

The body, the decoy.

Whose charred remains

Were in that cell?

For an entire year

There was no name.

Of course, there was no face.

Now we had a name,

Katlego bereng.

His mother is in a total state.

Completely emotional.

The sad part is that

Katlego's family

Has been thinking that this man

Has been missing all of this time.

People are only

Concentrating on the case,

But not on how my son died.

To find your family

Member's body

Charred beyond recognition

In a prison cell.

Guy, the trauma.

What was it like

To see the body?

It was bad.

It was bad because he was burned

Beyond recognition, you know?

It only took a feeling of

A parent to a child to say,

"Yes, this is my son."

If I can see him again

I will still express

The same love.

We had katlego when we were

Too young, monica and i.

At some point, you know, we los

Touch while she was pregnant.

But I made it a point when I started

Working that I must look for him.

Up until I found him in 2008.

What was it like

To be reunited?

It was so beautiful, you

Know, knowing that, finally,

I'm united with my first born.

Now I have to take responsibility

As the father, you know,

To help monica to raise him.

I was saving one

Child. Katlego bereng.

I didn't realise he

Was your only child.

It was only katlego bereng. Mm.

For us, we thought maybe,

He just went somewhere

To look for a job,

He just want to, you

Know, to surprise us,

And he was somebody who always, you

Know, put something on social media.

And then all of a sudden, he was

No longer active on social media.

Then my wife said to me,

"I've searched for him for

A while on social media,

I don't see him

Posting anything."

I didn't, you know,

Foresee the worst.

But I said, "as responsible parents

We have to do the right thing."

I then encouraged monica to go

And open a missing person report.

Katlego mpholo's family has

Rejected the police report

That says he collapsed in town

And was taken to hospital.

How much time went by to

The truths being known?

That, "hey, the person who

Actually burnt in that cell

Was not thabo bester."

And those who knew

Chose to ignore.

Because there were

People who knew.

This wasn't leaked to

Groundup by an inmate.

It took a former

Constitutional court judge

To blow the lid on the story.

Judge edwin cameron was

The initial whistle-blower

That led us down this path.

From the beginning,

My editor nathan,

Let me know that our source

Was justice edwin cameron.

The very first red

Flag came within days

Of the alleged death of thabo

Bester in mangaung maximum prison.

And that was the

Strangeness of it.

You don't easily commi

Suicide by self incineration

Inside the most secure wing

Of one the three most secure

Prisons in south africa.

So we were alerted to it.

We were conducting

Our investigation.

We kept the departmen

Of correctional services

And the minister informed.

I wrote to both the national

Commissioner and to the minister.

But nothing was happening.

And by september I started

Alerting nathan geffen,

Founder/editor of groundup.

On the 12th of october I

Sent him the first leak.

This astonishing story

Was uncovered by online

Non-profit news agency groundup.

I'm joined now by their

Editor, nathan geffen.

Why has it taken so

Long for the authorities

To make sure that that body that

Was unrecognisable was indeed him?

It really seems to be shambolic.

They're failing to answer questions

That are of immense public interest.

The department of

Correctional services

Surely has quite a bit of

Egg on their face over this.

And I think this is

Incompetence or negligence

Or corruption of

The highest degree.

I did not have confidence

That the department of

Correctional services, or g4s,

Or the saps would

Mount a vigorous, swif

Responsive campaign of action,

And I knew that we had to

Involve independent media.

Justice cameron is a

Very important person

In south african society.

He's contributed tremendously.

And he's currently the inspecting

Judge of correctional services.

So he's the head of the

Judicial inspectorate, jics,

Which has a mandate

To investigate

Any unnatural deaths

In prison facilities,

To oversee the

Treatment of inmates.

We are very concerned when we

Get information from prisoners.

We see prisoners as being

Our early warning system.

I conferred with

Judge nokuthula daniso

Of the free state high court,

Who the judge presiden

Had sent to mangaung

When he got a letter from one of

The prisoners raising the alarm,

Telling this incredible story tha

Thabo bester had actually escaped.

There was something

Very untoward happening.

The little morsel that made me

Think that he'd escaped was,

I think the misstep tha

Dr magudumana committed.

Which was that she

Wanted the body.

To do away with

It, to get it out.

To make sure that its dna

Wasn't going to tell tales.

Some enterprising constable, who

Deserves honour, in bloemfontein,

Said, "I'm not releasing the

Body 'cause I'm suspicious."

Who actually did his job. And

Went to alert his superior

About this strange

Person who was claiming,

You know, the third

Body in a row.

You know? Buy that man a bells.

She decided to go to court.

Big mistake.

He was already out by then.

When she went to court, she

Wrote an affidavit full of lies.

Lies about how she met thabo bester,

Lies about what the relationship was.

Lies about every detail.

When we got hold

Of that affidavit,

All the loose threads

Started coming apart.

I would have expected

The hawks, the saps,

The department, and g4s

To spring into action,

To follow up, where

Was thabo bester?

Who was this dr magudumana?

If you find ou

Where she's residing,

"Hey, presto, miracle.

Here's thabo bester."

So manguang correctional centre is

A private prison operated by g4s.

G4s is a multi-national

Security company.

They're massive.

They employ hundreds of thousands

Of people throughout the world.

They're not just in the

Private prisons' space,

They're also in the

Private security space,

They in the cash

In transit space.

They've got a bit of a sketchy

Track record internationally.

Some of their prisons in

The uk have been closed,

Or their contracts

Have been taken away

After evidence of human

Rights abuse has emerged.

I think many of us

Didn't even know

There were private prisons.

So in my mind I'm like,

"What's the difference between

Government and private business?"

The one has to make money.

Private prisons,

They're there to make money off

The criminal justice system.

And they get paid somewhat three

Times the amount for a prisoner

Than a prisoner in

The normal system.

The government has been paying

About r45 million a month

To g4s for the

Management of mangaung.

And to date has paid abou

R7 billion on the prison,

And if the contrac

Continues until 2026,

The government expects

To pay about r9 billion.

South africa has a massive

Problem with our prison system.

And it's all kinds of problems,

From a socio-economic perspective

Through to a justice perspective

Through to a

Funding perspective.

Some estimate that our

Prisons are 140 percent full.

When you've got that environmen

The prison warders have become

Very scared for their lives.

There's too many people.

The dcs, the

Government prisons,

They kept plus-minus 40 to 50

Inmates in the one section.

While I was working there I

Used to call them "streets".

But, you know, I

Prefer to work in dcs

Because it's a safer

Place than g4s.

Because most of the "streets"

Will be carrying 64 inmates.

One is equals to

64 Inmates. Really.

You are alone, they'll k*ll you.

Wardens often get threatened.

So, you know, inmates will say,

"I know where you live and I know

Where your kids go to school,

And I have lots of

Contacts outside of there,

So you do this thing

Of me or else."

And I think that's more the

Reason why the system fails.

I think that what happened in

This case is a grievous instance,

It's the most astounding

Instance, of this kind of escape.

But it is symptomatic of problems

Throughout the prison system.

G4s and bloemfontein

Correctional contracts

Were invited to

Come to parliamen

By the portfolio committee of

Correctional services and justice,

To come and accoun

And give a presentation

Of their investigations into

The thabo bester escape,

And to say what had happened.

G4s had sent us a letter

That morning, I think,

Or it was the nigh

Before, to the chairperson

Saying they weren't coming.

They said that confidentiality

Clauses in their contract,

As well as in the

Correctional services act,

Prohibited them from

Coming to parliamen

Without a parliamentary summons.

Which would basically grant them

Immunity from those clauses.

Can private corporations ge

Away with this kind of thing

Without giving any answers?

They thought they could.

I am absolutely

Outraged that g4s

Thumbed their nose at a

Committee of parliament.

A portfolio committee of parliament,

To which they should account.

It's very clear that they

Have something to hide.

We can't go ahead withou

Them, there's no point.

The kind of answers we

Need, they must be present,

And postpone this

Meeting and summons them.

Do you remember where you

Were when you heard the news?

I don't know how

This is gonna sound,

- But I was actually sleeping,

- And then I woke up

- Should I say that?

- Ja. That's perfect.

Okay. I was woken up by

A youtube notification.

One saturday morning we woke up quite

Surprised to see a tweet going around

That bester and magudumana

Had been arrested in tanzania.

In breaking news. r*pist

And m*rder*r, thabo bester,

Has been arrested.

Last night in

Arusha, in tanzania.

It's believed his partner,

Dr nandipha magudumana,

Was also apprehended.

Pictures started circulating

Upon their arrest,

And bester was wearing

A white head scarf.

What is this with a

Dishcloth on your head?

Just tell me. Is

That a disguise?

This is what you look like.

This story just keeps

Getting f♪♪♪ing crazier.

Apparently they were

In tanzania illegally.

Also caught with a bunch

Of passports on them.

Several passports were

Found on their possession,

Including a passport belonging to

Dr pashy, one of their scam victims.

A passport belonging to

Nandipha magudumana herself.

And then, of course, bester

Didn't have a real identity,

So he was found with a fake us

Passport in the name of tom kelly.

Which is also one of the

Aliases he's used in the past.

It's a very professional, and a

Very close-knit and small community

That actually manufacture

Fake passports.

So those passports he was

Found in possession of

Would have cos

Him a lot of money.

They obviously worked

Because he was able to get into

Tanzania from south africa.

But they weren't stamped.

Very strange.

How they left, they

Left illegally.

They left the country

Illegally because they

Nothing shows in any..

Whatever form of documentation

That they left the country

Legally. Maybe they'll explain.

So it means that either they

Didn't pass through a border post,

Or they paid somebody

At a border post,

Or they paid somebody

To move them across

Without having to

Produce those passports.

But we all know our borders

Are very, very porous.

It's a deportation,

Not an extradition?

Who helped them? How did

They get out of the country?

Police are still

Trying to figure out

How they're gonna deport

Dr nandipha from tanzania

To face justice for a warrant

That she has in south africa.

They had to play

It quite carefully

Because when someone's

Arrested in another country

And you wanna bring

Them back to face trial,

They need to normally

Be extradited.

Thabo bester, on the

Hand, it's a lot easier,

Because he is an

Escaped convicted felon,

So he's just getting

Deported to come back here

To continue serving his time.

So what happened was tha

The south african governmen

Made an agreement with

The tanzanian governmen

That magudumana and bester

Would both be deported

And that they can be taken

In a south african plane.

South africa is a

Fascinating place.

Our politicians don'

Readily get embarrassed

By the fact that the country

Has been experiencing blackouts,

Electricity power cuts,

In excess of 15 years.

And so flights were chartered, home

Affairs officials got on-board.

They will leave no expense

To try and secure these two

Because this is the story

The nation is talking about.

Why would you need to

Charter a private jet?

Chairperson, simply put,

It was part of negotiations with

The officials on the other side.

So the tanzanian's wanted

To fly to south africa

On a private jet? Is

That what you're saying?

It's a yes or no answer.

No, I'm not going to

Answer that way. No.

Then don't answer.

- You can tell us to answer yes or no.

- No, don't answer.

- Absolutely not in court here.

- It's fine.

There was a manhunt that was

At a pretty advanced stage.

But it seems the arrest itself

Was done by tanzanian authorities,

Not by south

African authorities.

So the police work was

Done by the tanzanians,

They did the job tha

The south africans

Were supposed to have done a year

Earlier, and handed him over.

Convicted r*pist and

m*rder*r thabo bester,

And his accomplice dr

Nandipha magudumana

Are actually expected to touch down

In south africa any minute now.

Nobody knew where they

Were going to land.

It was.. A secret.

We had to sniff out.

Fortunately we had access

To some information,

And we basically camped ou

At the lanseria airport.

So did you stay awake

The whole night?

Yes, we did. So we had

Been there from 20:00

Until 16:00 the nex

Day when they arrived.

Well shortly after 16:00,

The aircraft carrying thabo bester

And dr nandipha magudumana arrived.

He was then whisked

Into the police nyala.

Mr bester, do you

Have anything to say?!

Mr bester, do you

Have anything to say?!

I see you there.

Dr nandipha magudumana

Walked right past us.

And you would've seen a video tha

Had gone viral where I asked her

Dr nandipha magudumana, do

You have anything to say?

Maybe for her, at that moment,

Everything could've sunk in.

The reality that..

Her freedom is gone.

Escapee mr.. Thabo bester

Or well known as thabo bester

With his accomplice, also known

As dr nandipha "magudumalong",

With a mozambican national,

Have been arrested.

This is where thabo bester was

Brought to under 24 hour guard.

When nandipha was apprehended

With thabo bester

There was a sense of relief.

I called my brother-in-law,

Nandipha's husband,

I asked him how he feels,

He said no, he's relieved,

Because now he can

Explain to the kids

That, "mommy did a

Few wrong things,

And she's got a lot of

Questions to answer,"

Which is a bit better than saying,

"No, mommy is back in a body bag."

Are you okay?

Okay. Do you wanna say anything?

- No.

- Okay.

Zolile sekeleni

Nandipha magudumana father

The reason why dr

Nandi's dad was jailed

And is now appearing in court

Is because they believe that

He helped thabo bester escape.

It's alleged he hired the car

That transported bereng's body.

It's possibly, for me,

The most puzzling piece

Of this entire story.

Was it for money? Was it for

Access to the fancy mansion?

Was it for the flashy cars?

You would expect tha

If nandipha magudumana

Was gonna get herself involved

In something like that,

Her father would be

The voice of reason.

I'm very cross with nandipha

That she got my father involved.

It's unheard of, you know?

We should be the ones

Protecting our parents.

She should've.. Fear, dread.

The disappointmen

Of her father.

No, he's an

Accomplice. Allegedly.

I can assure you that if

My father had been alive,

And I'd asked him to do tha

For me, he would've said no.

And dragged me off, by my ear,

To the nearest police station.

My dad is allowed to be at home even

Though his movements are restricted.

And I guess he's learned to

Live with it at the moment.

And we sort of speak every day.

And.. He doesn't have anger,

He's just optimistic,

And looking forward to

Better days, if I may say.

And mostly concerned

About my sister.

So, ja, I think he's

He's taking it like a man.

Sekeleni and matsoara were charged

With helping bester escape,

And arson, but they were

Also charged with m*rder.

Matsoara was fired

By g4s in september,

But not before boasting about a

Brand-new car before bester's escape.

Here is thabo bester's id.

Dr aaron motsoaledi, the

Home affairs minister,

Gives thabo bester an id.

Thabo bester has been

Undocumented for over 30 years,

And yet it took the departmen

Of home affairs a matter of days

To issue both the birth certificate

And an identity documen

That is presented to the public.

So it's almost as if they used

This opportunity as a pr stun

To show that they've done

Something good and positive

When there are other

Millions of people

Still waiting for assistance from

The department of home affairs,

Including children so

That just made me angry.

This case has been importan

In terms of demonstrating

How intrinsically urgen

Issues of documentation are.

Even when people are

Trying to access documents,

It is the department standing in the

Way of them getting those documents.

It's the sad reality

In south africa

That the bureaucratic

Failures and barriers

That state departments

Present to people

Who are legitimately

Trying to access services

Does force them to the

Path of least resistance,

Which is the path of

Corruption and illegality.

People go mad for this one.

Look, everyone was

Like, "oh thabo bester."

And have you guys had a momen

To crack a bottle of champagne

Together or a high five or

Yes, we did, yesterday

In the office.

- Yes.

- And marecia had a few c*ck.

It's fake news. Fake news.

And so do you guys, do

You still like each other

After this year

Of work together?

What do you mean, "still"?

- Did we ever?

- Ja.

That's the question.

It's been a lot,

But I am thankful that the

Book is finally completed.

And it's out there,

And it's in stores.

It still feels a bit surreal when

People send me photos of book stores,

And then I see the

Thabo bester book.

Did you guys think tha

You would get a book deal

- Before you turned 30?

- No.

Absolutely not. I had planned to

Write a book by the time I'm 70.

So that I can sort of

Deposit all of my wealth

Of knowledge in that book.

I did not expect to be writing

Anything under 30 at all.

Marecia and daniel, they

Did a very thorough job.

They went around checking up every

Fact before the first story appeared.

Ja, I think groundup has done

Fantastic work in general

In investigative journalism.

And I think in

This particular

It'll be remembered for

This particular story.

I think this story shows the

Importance of whistleblowers

Working with members of

The media who they trust.

To expose corruption

And incompetence

In the government and

In the private sector.

The democracy that we have

Is anchored around

Public participation.

But participatory

Democracy means the media.

- Slate one, take one.

- Cool.

I think sometimes people

Perceive the media

As trying to catch people out.

Ja, well the media

Would never catch you up

If you're on top of your story,

Because the issue's

About being straight.

At the end, the media plays a

Role of exposing these things.

The media can pu

These things out there,

But they can't actually

Put the crooks in jail.

Today we'll start with g4s

Who have been summoned

To assist this process

To get to the

Bottom of this saga.

It was a two-day session

Where parliamentarians

Were looking for answers.

From all the stake

Holders involved.

The police, the departmen

Of correctional services,

As well as jics.

They has to be forced,

Almost kicking and screaming,

Before the corporation's

Leadership came, under oath,

To say, "this is what happened."

Allow me to thank you for

Sending us the summons

That we asked for and making is

Possible for us to attend today.

Chair, we have the

Greatest respect

For this committee,

And for its work.

And, chair, we have participated

Fully from the outset

With all investigative

Authorities.

In their report they said

Thabo bester has died.

In black and white.

We have the autopsy repor

And the cctv footage

That's a lie. No, no, no,

It's a bald-faced lie.

There's nothing else

That you can call it.

Unless you've had a, you know,

Serious lobotomy procedure

When you were very young.

And then I had to ask them

Do you now believe that he's

Been arrested in tanzania?

Then they would say,

"Yes, we now believe."

So it's almost like this chap

Was resurrected from the dead.

Mr beyleveld,

Where's thabo bester?

According to the information

That we have, he's now arrested.

Why did g4s cling to the version

That it was thabo bester's

Body in that cell?

Even after it was very clear

To everybody else in south

Africa that it wasn't.

Just answer me that question.

Because we were not the primary

Investigating authority,

And we did not have access to the

Prime evidence, honourable member.

And that's your answer?

- Yes.

- Wow.

It just demonstrated a

Lack of accountability.

And that would then mean

You need to dig much deeper

About how they do

Things in that prison.

Go to the cell, go to the cell.

Going towards cell 35.

We received an application

From inmate bester,

Where he was applying to be kept in

A single cell for his own safety.

And inmate bester was

Placed in cell 35.

Ja, I'm too old to believe in

A confluence of coincidences.

Bester was in a cell at the furthes

End of the passage from the camera.

You know, and somebody had

To be moved out of that cell

To accommodate him in that cell,

While there were other empty cells.

And not to put too fine a point

On it, and no pun intended,

It's right next to

The fire escape.

What I'm not ruling out

Is that certain members,

Together with mr bester,

Carefully planned this event.

The best you can say is you

Don't rule out the possibility

That this was a well-planned,

Monumentally logistical operation.

I mean, I have a german shepard puppy

That can come to that conclusion.

The g4s f♪♪♪in' directors, and

Bosses, and whoever they were,

They didn't know what

The f♪♪hit them.

You don't think that it's

Part of your responsibility

To determine how a m*rder*r

And a serial r*pist

Walked out of your prison?

That's somebody else's

Responsibility? Get real.

G4s had every

Reason to stonewall,

To close it's ears, to close it's

Eyes, to close it's mouth, and why?

Because that escape, that scandalous

Event, could not have happened

Without widespread,

Pervasive, operational-level,

And managerial-level

Complicity by g4s officers.

It's impossible to believe that this

Whole operation could've taken place

Without the greasing

Of many palms.

How many g4s employees were on

Duty at that facility that night?

There we're more than 20 g4s

Officers on duty that night.

Now I think the likely

Inference is that all of them

Were either paid off or warned

Off or told, "look away."

It was 23, honourable

Member, that was on duty.

23 People had to

Look the other way?

Braai'ing, roasting

Over the coals.

So let's assume you agree with

Me now that bester got out,

How did he get out?

Currently to say how he got out,

I don't think that's

My purpose now.

The sap are conducting

The criminal investigation

And we do a due diligent

Investigation into the operations.

You honestly.. That's the

Answer to the question?

It's not your responsibility?

They said they had investigated

And found that three of the

Prison wardens on duty that nigh

Did not follow

Proper procedures.

And they were suspended

And then later dismissed.

Are you honestly sitting

Here this morning telling us

That this escape, of

Hollywood proportions

Was done with the

Assistance of three people?

Is that what you're suggesting?

I'm not suggesting

That, honourable member,

I'm saying that those

Are the individuals

Who did not follow

Policy and procedure.

We suspended them and

We dismissed them.

That's just simply not possible.

It had to have

Been so many more.

You had quite a field day,

Did you learn anything new?

The recording portion of

The surveillance system

Was malfunctioning just over

That period of the actual escape.

So on the 2nd of may, 2022,

From 21:38 until the 3rd of may,

The following day,

Just after 04:00,

The security cameras by the

Solitary confinement cell

That thabo bester was held in

Were completely turned off.

And they resumed

Operating and 04:10.

04:10! Bo! And the camera

Resumed operating. Ye?

Just that little slot

And it didn't work?

You'll agree with me that

That's not a coincidence.

Yes, that coincidence

Is strange.

It must stretch even

Your imagination.

- It does.

- Yes, quite.

We keep footage for only seven days,

Video footage for only seven days,

So it's not possible

For us to go back

- Mm.

- To the date that

- You mentioned.

- But I assume,

And when something happens

Like a fire in a cell,

You keep that video footage.

- Correct.

- Unfortunately,

In this case, there

Was none. Coincidently.

One of the people on duty a

The prison was a cctv technician

Teboho lipholo, who worked for

A company called integritron,

Which maintained the cctv

System at the prison.

Their investigation repor

Did not find anything

Against teboho lipholo who

Later admitted to switching off

The cctv cameras in the prison.

He was allegedly promised

R2.5 million by bester,

But only received

R40,000 in payment.

And just days prior

To this incident,

A vehicle made an unauthorised entry

Into the prison facility, correct?

- That's correct.

- How come? Why?

That's currently

Being investigated.

So how far have you got with

Your investigation? Tell us.

That's what you're here to do.

To be coming into

The prison facility

Arrived with a wooden tv stand.

They used it to

Smuggle the body in,

They put it in the workshop.

The excuse was I

Had to be worked on,

That's why it had to come in.

Could a corpse have

Fitted into that tv stand?

- I think so, yeah.

- Okay.

You are probably wondering how

Did katlego end up in cell 35.

What is not the

Truth about my son.

It was when they were saying my

Son collapsed in central park.

The ambulance came to took

Him, took him to hospital,

And then he was received

As an unidentified person.

That's where it made me angry.

My son is known,

Here in bloemfontein,

Especially soccer-loving people.

Katlego was a nice

Guy. I knew him.

Until at that age of

30-Something, yes.

He was always talking abou

Celtics this, celtics that.

He was never

Involved in a fight,

Or hearing katlego

Has been arrested, no.

That is, I'm getting emotional

When talking about this thing.

Just imagine if it was

Your son, your brother.

The family's grief

Is on public display

As details about the elaborate

Escape continue making headlines.

Katlego's family searched

For an entire year for him,

And still, even after the

Confirmation of his death,

They're left with

So many questions.

At the time of the

Initial arrest,

There was only early

Indications of a m*rder,

But then as the police

Investigation continued,

These charges were later withdrawn

Due to a lack of evidence.

At the centre of everything

That has happened here

Are the alleged victims

And people like katlego

Bereng's mother and father

That are still

Looking for answers.

It's fishy. It's fishy.

They think there's more

That still needs to be

Unveiled regarding his death.

When all of this happened,

Who was the manguang correctional

Centre director? Was it you?

Yes, honorary member,

It was still me.

Everything happened under you?

- That's correct.

- You are still the director there?

- Have you been dismissed?

- No.

- Why?

- No, I did not commit any misconduct.

When everything else

Happened under you?

- Yes.

- Wow.

This is not an escape.

This is a properly planned,

Well-ex*cuted walk out of prison.

Department of

Correctional services

Has served the private

Company managing the prison

With a notice that it will

Be terminating its contract.

This contract does not deserve

Any further day to continue.

- I would disagree with that.

- Why?

Our track record over 22 years

Is a good track record given

If compared to other private

And public facilities.

This issue, before you respond,

It's a serious

Reputational risk,

Not to dcs, to the

Country south africa.

Here we go! Here

The f♪♪we go!

Here the f♪♪we go!

Magudumana has been

Fighting for her freedom.

She claims she was

Abducted by state officials

And has attempted to have her

Arrest and deportation set aside.

She has the f♪♪♪ing audacity

To say that her being extracted

From a country that she entered

With ill*gal, forged documents

Was unlawful.

Like, b♪♪♪♪, get the

F♪♪out of here.

A possible reason for nandipha

Abandoning her bail is because

If she were to take bail,

That might have been seen

As her agreeing with the

Charges brought out against her.

Stealing bodies,

Freeing a man from prison who

Was a r*pist and a m*rder*r,

Dumping the bodies that you

Took from morgues in a river.

Sit your a*s down and

Go to jail forever.

For the first time

Since their deportation,

Bester and dr nandipha

Were reunited in the dock.

Ladies and gentleman,

Here's our bonnie and clyde.

Here's our bonnie and clyde.

Cameras are flashing,

There's a hushed silence.

And for the first time we saw them

Together in front of the whole world.

Some of us, we've never

Had our partners look at us

The way nandipha looked

At thabo. Be honest.

This is giving, "I will

Live, breathe, die for you."

I mean, they already did

The other crazy stuff

Like steal dead bodies and

Break out of jail, but still!

They rose to the occasion.

The stolen kisses, tha

Look into each other's eyes,

The holding of hands.

It was as if we were watching an

Episode of our favourite soap opera.

No criminal should be this happy

And smitten in the court of law

While they face so many

Criminal charges. Uh-uh!

Everyone wanted to see

How they were going to

Behave towards each other,

And I guess everyone got more

Than what they bargained for,

Because whatever you

Interpret from what you saw

It certainly did

Raise some eyebrows.

I've, personally, never

Seen a love like this.

Ooh, nandi! Yoh!

How do we get that bester

Level of love from the lady?

Yoh, bruh.

When we look at body language,

We look for fake

Smiles and real smiles.

There wasn't a real smile

On her face, it was fake.

She's quite nervous.

Her arm came around her stomach,

Now women do this to

Protect this bodies.

She was very well kept. Red

Lipstick, her hair was always done.

Everyone was frowning upon

That because many were asking,

"Who's doing her hair? Why

Do her nails look so good?

Ah my nails don't look so good and

Yet I've got my freedom outside."

Those were the sentiments

That were being shared.

She looks very good for

Someone who is behind bars.

A lot of the media

Were reporting on

What bester was wearing

During his court appearances,

And what nandipha's hair looked like,

And what her makeup looked like.

And although there is

Nothing inherently wrong

With including those

Elements in your report,

That shouldn't be the focus.

Instead, the focus should be on

The crimes that they

Were being accused of.

Well people accused us of

Sensationalising the story,

Which, I think, was

Absolute rubbish,

Because everyone was asking, "where

Was this lifestyle coming from?"

The allegations tha

Were being made,

And the extravagance which was on

Public display for everyone to see,

Told a story on its own.

Thabo bester is demanding

The return of valuables

Estimated to be

Worth r29 million.

When he appeared in cour

After his re-arrest,

He gave the magistrate

A list of assets

That he said was taken from

Him in tanzania by police.

A rolex o, r2.6

Million, two of those.

Millions of rands worth of

Cash, watches, designer clothes,

Phones and laptops,

Which, firstly, he would be

Breaking several international laws

By carrying those assets

Over borders illegally.

So he's incriminating himself,

Not that he seems to care.

And, secondly, it just seems

Completely unbelievable.

What is still unexplained

Is the source of his

"Apparent" wealth.

They were ready to flash it,

Quite prepared to display it,

But no one has quite

Connected all the dots

About how all of this

Was being funded.

The story about the

Billions in the bank

Comes from an article

That was published

Quoting a lawyer who was

Approached by bester,

In which bester claimed

To be tom motsepe,

The brother of thabo bester,

And said that he had

Billions in assets

That had been taken away by

The asset forfeiture unit,

And that he wanted

This lawyer's help

In getting this money and the assets

Back from the asset forfeiture uni

And giving it to

Nandipha magudumana.

And then the lawyer,

Of course, said,

"Well all these documents

That you've provided are fake,

So I'm not gonna

Take your case."

What do you make

Of the picture

Of thabo bester and jacob zuma?

I've seen that picture.

Maybe jz was scammed by thabo bester.

Maybe he's a victim. We don't know.

The jacob zuma foundation

Has vehemently denied

That zuma has ever

Met thabo bester.

But, you know, if

You think about it,

Thabo bester has

Obviously wormed his way

Into south africa's

Rich and famous,

And he could've gone to have

A cup of tea with jacob zuma

To pitch a business

Investment opportunity.

And does it matter if

That photo is real or not?

It doesn't matter.

It doesn't matter.

I think all that matters

Is that it's out there.

It's what it represents.

Once that idea sets in, it's

Enough to be persuasive to people.

Jacob zuma, he was someone

Who was able to build a brand

And a cult of

Personality around him

As an everyman just trying

To rise above adversity,

And just trying to

Make it to the top,

And in that presentation saying

That you too can one day be in tha

Position of power and influence.

I think thabo bester was

Someone who clocked that.

There's always an elemen

Of romanticising criminals,

Especially when they ge

Away with daring acts.

So the myth-making

Is inevitable,

But we have to remember tha

There were victims here.

Magudumana will apply for bail.

Back in may she temporarily

Withdrew her bail bid.

When she now does finally

Decide to apply for bail,

She gives the impression

That she left the country in the

First instance against her will,

Even though there's footage tha

Shows her in the passenger seat.

The question, so what

Was she doing in tanzania

If they arrested her unlawfully?

Was she on holiday?

Was she on honeymoon?

Definitely they were

Fleeing from the law.

This is someone who says

That she was kidnapped,

But did you see how they

Behaved towards each other

In court?

While she claims

Bester kidnapped her,

The state alleges she's

Bester's girlfriend

Who lived with him for almost a

Year after facilitating his escape.

And then nandipha

Magudumana

With some chutzpah,

Released a statement,

Addressing it to

Friends and family.

But really, the sense

Is very clearly here,

She's addressing the country because

Of our fascination with the story.

She speaks about her

ill*gal incarceration,

And the conversations,

The deep conversations she has with

God each and every passing day.

She thanks the people who are

Rooting for her, supporting her,

And even praying for her.

So from the onset, she wants

To give this impression

Of this righteous woman,

Somebody who has been imprisoned

For some greater purpose,

Some greater cause.

She speaks to her

Children directly.

"Mommy misses you.

Mommy loves you."

Mommy is fighting with everything

She has to be with you again.

"I will see you again

Soon," she says.

You know, she came in

Court, you know, singing,

And pretending to be praying,

And stuff like that. This

Woman is a thug, bruh.

I find that the applicant

Is a definite flight risk,

And that no bail condition will

Assist under the circumstances

To limit this risk.

You think this is hyde

Park? Welcome to prison.

You know, I'm

Sorry to say this,

But I have to say it.

I've said sometimes to go to

School is a waste of money.

Dr nandipha is so educated.

Her calibre doesn't match

With this one of thabo bester.

Now I'm talking abou

An experienced doctor.

She's having her money.

Why she was tricked

By thabo bester?

I think, to her, it feels

Like I'm a judas of some sort.

I'm a.. I betrayed her.

And they do really say like,

"Dude, she really,

Really, really hates you."

But I wanted tha

Monster behind bars.

I decided that I would go to

Court and support nandipha.

She's my sister,

And she's one of us,

And we were raised to

Support each other,

Even though things migh

Have happened in the past.

Do you think she was surprised

To see you sitting

There in court?

Probably. I think she

Was surprised, yes.

She acknowledged

That I was there. Ja.

Have you spoken to your family

About your experience

With this documentary?

I haven't spoken to my family

About this documentary.

It will be a shock

To them, and

They will take I

How they take it.

And, I mean, as I've been speaking on

This platform with nothing to hide.

This whole story seems to me

To have been an

Intricate game of chess.

We know the queen can

Make all sorts of moves,

And was it not dr magudumana

Who was fetching bodies,

Planning all of this?

So there they were,

The king and the queen,

With all of these little pawns,

Who were, ultimately,

Dispensable, expendable

In their little game of chess.

The thabo bester escape

Saga is set to go on trial.

Nine people, including bester,

Are facing a raft of charges.

Of the accused we

Have thabo bester,

And then, of course, there

Are all these officials,

Some of whom worked for g4s, all

Of them working in that facility.

We have dr nandipha

Her father

Then we have her gardner.

The list of charges

Is quite serious.

Bester probably has

The least to lose

Of all the people in the dock,

'Cause he's already in prison.

Magudumana has suffered

Great reputational damage

From this whole affair.

Helping a prisoner escape can

Land you in jail for 15 years.

The corruptions charges are based

Not on the amount they paid,

But on the amount they promised.

So if she's convicted

Of the crimes,

Magudumana faces a

Long time in prison.

What would you like to

See come out of the trial?

Well I think just for the

Actual truth to come out,

Because there are still

So many questions.

Questions that we have,

Questions that our

Colleagues in the media have,

That the broader

Public still has,

Regarding how exactly was

This able to take place.

I'd like to see a proper

Investigation done

With a proper

Prosecution, evidence-led.

I'd like to see good

Cross-examination

To annihilate bester and nandipha,

Because they're talking crap.

So certainly the answers are

Owed to the south african public.

It's not jut a story

That's sensational,

It's, like, also in my

Brain I'm going through,

"What is..? What are we living

In? What has our country come to?

What is this all about?"

What do you think

Of thabo bester now?

I'll always hate thabo

Bester. I'll always hate him.

I hate what he's done

To many families,

Not just my family.

The victims of the shenanigans

He was involved in.

I'm not the type of person who goes

Around hating people, I love people,

But I don't think he's a person.

And I hope.. No matter

Whatever happens in the future,

He'll never be

Released from custody.

He'll die in jail. He

Deserves to die in jail. Mm.

Thabo bester, dr nandipha trial

Is gonna be, like, everywhere.

It must have the same commentators

Who do xhosa commentary for rugby.