Original subtitles

Listen, Nandipha,

you will find you and your clothes on the fucking streets!

You will never block me!

Do you not think I have people fucking following your fucking ass?

There was a recording that surfaced on social media

of a telephone conversation between Bester and Nandipha.

-It illustrated how… how abusive he was. -Wouldn't understand that…

Let me advise you for the last time.

I can tell you this, Nandipha. I know exactly what you're wearing.

I know exactly where you are. So do not piss me off!

That was an incredibly scary voice note to listen to,

and to understand that that is what Nandipha had to also deal with.

You hear him completely just going off at her,

and she is very quietly trying to address him.

You submit to the rules of this fucking house!

Do you hear me?

-I heard you. -Listen here, Nandipha…

I will burn you with that fucking house in Hyde Park.

Do you hear what the fuck I said?

This is what she had to deal with and live with on a daily.

With no one knowing.

And for the longest of time, this person has been living with this monster

that spoke to her like this, that treated her like this.

It means he's also this evil. He's vile.

And I can guarantee you, if you want to see your livers, try me.

This should have been the turning point for my sister,

and, uh, sort of realise that, you know, this guy is capable of killing

and capable of doing whatever he was, uh, telling Nandipha.

Hearing that recording, it was pretty evident

that Nandipha could've painted herself into a corner.

She probably couldn't get out of this relationship, even if she wanted to.

Nobody knew the lengths that Bester would take to stay out of prison.

Would he murder someone else? Would he rape someone else?

Would Thabo get rid of her after she had served her purpose?

Thabo Bester's saga is evolving.

On the run, Thabo Bester and his girlfriend, Nandipha Magudumana.

As far as we were concerned,

they were still within the boundaries of South Africa.

Some sources were saying that they were either in Mpumalanga.

Some sources were saying that they could be in KZN.

Zimbali Estate was being thrown around quite a lot.

Somebody like Thabo Bester… It's a lion on the loose and has to be brought back.

I do analysis on cellphone records, bank statements,

as a forensic practitioner.

With a cellphone tower,

you are able to trace which vicinity the person could be at.

That's when they now moved towards the Ballito, Zimbali side.

They resided there for a night,

and then by the time the law enforcement arrived,

they were already gone, and their phones were off.

Police were on high alert,

so they had to move quickly because those were crucial times.

Everybody knows them. I mean, Dr Nandipha is a celebrity.

She was of a high risk to be around here in South Africa.

It has been alleged that they used the Pomona Road,

the back road towards Mpumalanga, that goes through Stanger.

You don't have to go via toll gate.

Almost towards the fence, border of Swaziland,

then you can jump into Mozambique.

He's believed to have fled the country through the Mozambique border,

together with his girlfriend, Dr Nandipha Magudumana.

In South Africa, our borders are not as closely monitored,

and money talks in situations like that.

To get over the borders, unfortunately, it is quite easy.

There is a fixed bribe that one can pay.

They easily could go across.

They knew that, should this thing come to light,

they will need to use cash and not cards.

So most of the time, they had cash to move around and to buy their way out.

In Mozambique, it has been alleged that they met one of the guys

that smuggles diamonds and stolen vehicles.

So he's got connections in many of the borders.

We were definitely alarmed by it

because we weren't sure of where they would be heading to.

And seeing just the general incompetence

with the police handling the investigation while Bester was still in the country,

we were concerned about whether they would ever even catch him

after he had crossed the borders.

And I just assumed that they are heading through East Africa to North Africa,

then outside of Africa to Europe.

They drove all the way from Mozambique to Tanzania without being caught.

We were shocked, and we were wondering why it was

that police hadn't caught them before they had left the country.

But, yeah, it wasn't completely unbelievable

that they had made it that far.

My name is Mnaku Mbani.

I'm a senior journalist. I'm working with the Guardian newspaper in Dar es Salaam.

The information I had is that they were using a leased vehicle.

Tanzania was just a pathway.

According to the details I obtained from the Immigration Department,

they said they were planning to cross the country to Kenya.

They drove all the way to Arusha.

Arusha is a small city, but it's busy because a lot of tourism.

Sometimes you can stay for quite a long time without people knowing it.

Police authorities, they say…

Thabo had almost changed his identity.

He has a long beard.

And he wear the Muslim clothes where you can cover your head.

Sometimes the whole body's covered.

Nandipha, the same.

The women sometimes they cover all their face.

And what will remain only is just your eyes.

Us, as the SAPS, we mobilise all the resources

to apprehend this fugitive of justice,

to apprehend those who have assisted this particular fugitive.

While they were out of the country,

I was checking the developments of the story every day,

just hoping and praying that whatever happens,

she'll end up being alive, not dead.

Then I was called by a journalist, and he said, um,

"Hey, where is your dad?"

I said, "I'm not gonna tell you where my dad is.

You're a journalist. Find that out yourself."

And he went on to say, "Well, your dad is getting arrested."

I'm like, "For what?"

So as soon as I dropped the call, I called my dad, I said,

"Dad, these people are looking for you."

At that moment, he was in custody.

A cop took the phone and said to me,

"Yeah. Oh, are you trying to help your dad get away?"

It was a horrible thing. It was a horrible thing.

Those who came here in Port Edward, they arrested me here.

They said I was helping in an escape

of a prisoner.

Dr Nandipha Magudumana's father, Zolile Sekeleni,

is alleged to have driven a vehicle rented by Dr Nandipha to Bloemfontein.

This car is said to have been used to transport the body used as a decoy

into the Mangaung Prison through the help of G4S employees,

where it was set alight to secure Bester's escape.

It was a difficult time.

We'll distinguish ourselves

about what happened to her.

What happened to me.

I started hearing that name, Thabo Bester.

Those who were following Bester were a mixed group of police officers.

The Tanzanian group, Interpol, and the South African group.

The initial information indicated

Bester was sleeping in Arusha.

And the arrest of Bester was supposed to take place at a hotel.

The hotel was surrounded.

When they went to ambush,

they found that about 12 minutes earlier, Bester and his companions had left.

They had already started their journey towards Namanga,

possibly heading to Kenya.

So a roadblock was set up.

Now, there is always a checkpoint there, which has been in place for many years

to catch smuggled goods between Kenya and Tanzania.

Initially, there were doubts about

whether the vehicle had passed or not.

At the checkpoint, they were told to lower the car windows.

And there was one officer who called them by their names,

Thabo Bester and Dr Nandi.

So, I think that shocked them and made them realise that it was over.

Fugitive Thabo Bester,

his alleged accomplice, Dr Nandipha Magudumana,

and a Mozambican national have been arrested in Tanzania.

Bester and Dr Nandipha Magudumana have been on the run

since his escape became public last month.

I can say that the arrest of Bester and his friend

was like catching a chicken,

because there was no resistance of any kind.

The news of Thabo and Nandipha's arrest came almost overnight,

and I remember waking up, going, "What? They have been arrested?"

For the first time, a lot of people could actually acknowledge and accept

that they were, you know, they were caught and their run had come to an end.

This couple had done some extraordinary things over the past couple of weeks,

and some of them were still… you were still processing them.

Wow. Bester looks completely taken aback and shocked in this picture.

And, Nandipha, you can see she looks… she looks very sad.

The ultimate fall from grace.

Can't believe… Like, I can't…

As shocked as I am with the rest of the nation, like,

my shock is often, you know, followed up by,

"I can't believe I met with this man."

I did not recognise him.

He didn't look like the Bester that I had, you know, met with and spoken to.

You know, very clean-cut, trim. That was the Bester that we knew.

Up until that point, there was a sense of fear

that they would get away with it.

I felt relieved

when she was arrested…

alive!

My first initial reaction was,

"Thank God that she is safe, and thank God Thabo has been apprehended."

Then after that, it was all the emotions.

It was sad to see her in that position.

From a bigger-than-life type of person that I grew up with, to being…

There's that photo where she's… Her head is on the desk and her fists is…

And it said so many things.

That Nandipha now, probably, is awake

from this trance she was in,

and sort of saying, "Yeah, what the hell did I get myself into?"

Did you really think that you were going to get away with this, and how?

Did you genuinely think that you were never, ever, ever gonna get caught?

It's just unfathomable. True-crime novel playing out in real time.

I think, to a certain degree, a lot of people were disappointed

when they were caught in Tanzania, you know.

Probably hoping they could go on

for, like, another couple of months before they're caught.

It was the story of the year at that point.

Lo and behold, on Saturday, they fucking catch Thabo Bester.

-And Dr Nandipha! -Hey! In Tanzania.

You could've waited one more week!

Two, three more days.

Get caught on a Monday or a Tuesday.

You're gonna get caught in Tanzania on a Saturday.

Thabo Bester and his accomplice, Dr Nandipha Magudumana,

are expected to touch down in South Africa.

They are with the South African officials who left to fetch them.

Police Minister Bheki Cele says Bester did not cooperate

with police while in Tanzania, while Magudumana did.

We continue with our live rolling coverage on the deportation

of the country's most wanted convicted rapist and murderer, Thabo Bester,

and his girlfriend, Dr Nandipha Magudumana.

They've arrived back in the country under a heavy police guard.

Dr Magudumana, do you have anything to say?

Dr Magudumana, do you have anything to say?

Dr Nandipha, why did you leave?

I was very hopeful that it wouldn't be them.

But as I saw them arriving at Lanseria, I was like, "This is real. It is."

It was, uh, a realisation moment that, actually,

what has been said could be so true.

She looked exhausted.

It was sort of like watching a movie when they get trapped, like, "This is it now."

I'm looking at Nandipha, and I'm just watching these cops as well.

It's like they're actors, but this is real life.

Oh, my gosh. This is crazy.

Mr Bester, do you have anything to say?

Seeing all of this unfolding in real time

made everything that much more worth it.

And I think, just all of the hours that we had spent digging for information,

trying to get hold of people, trying to figure things out,

and then seeing, ultimately, the fruits of our labour,

Bester and Nandipha being captured.

It was a very surreal experience.

South Africa loves this kind of drama. Like, we thrive on things like this.

This is where Thabo Bester was brought to,

the C-Max Prison.

With electric doors and under 24-hour guard.

They're now back in the country. Let justice be served.

Well, Dr Nandipha Magudumana and her father, Zolile Sekeleni,

will be reunited in the dock after her arrest in Tanzania.

And it's all in relation to the prison escape

of convicted murderer and rapist Thabo Bester.

I definitely think it was a daunting moment for Nandipha

because the whole country's been looking for you.

The whole country's busy watching your court appearance.

There's tons of media everywhere. There's cameras in your face.

It was reality.

It was real, it was happening, and it was a moment, basically.

It was quite strange to see her in a mask,

and her head was completely covered.

And there was a little bit of me going, "Is that actually Nandipha?"

Like, we need to see a full face just to make sure that you've got the right woman.

What I'm saying is, the court itself must be satisfied

that the person mentioned in the judgement is, in fact,

the accused before court.

I'm the prosecution. I haven't seen her face.

I don't know if that relates to the name before court here.

Thank you. Thank you, ma'am.

So I saw my daughter and my husband.

It was very bad for me.

I had to cry sometimes because I didn't imagine Nandipha to be there.

I had to wonder how she came there.

Let's get the latest now from court.

Her father kept looking at her. They exchanged a few words.

I could not hear what they were saying, but I could see the tears in his eyes.

I watched that first court appearance and I, uh, cried that day.

I…

Yeah, it's like reliving it. Yeah.

Yeah.

It was a really emotional day.

Yeah, I think I cried for a week after that.

And, yeah, just seeing your father and your sister…

It felt like my family's world is ending,

and my dad's world had just crashed.

And my mom is vulnerable.

You know, it hurts seeing Nandipha in that situation.

But I think it hurts even more seeing your parent in that situation.

Even if they are supportive, there is an element of embarrassment and shame

that is attached to what she did and what she put them through.

Being on the run with a convicted rapist

and allegedly going to the lengths that you've gone to to ensure that he escaped.

I called, uh, Nandipha's husband.

And I said, "How are you doing? How are the kids doing? How do you feel?"

He said he doesn't know this Nandipha.

This is not the Nandipha that he married.

This is not the Nandipha he knew as the mother of his kids.

Something that he can't explain got over to Nandipha.

And all he just wishes for is for the law to take its course,

and at least tell his kids,

"Mommy has got questions to answer."

What's her thoughts for her children, her two daughters?

Why did she leave her kids behind and choose a criminal?

Nandipha Magudumana will be facing a number of charges,

which include violation of bodies, aiding and abetting, and fraud.

I actually cannot believe this is someone's real life.

Life is full of possibilities for her, but yet she finds herself in this mess.

And then to bring your whole entire family into it.

This idea of stealing bodies, and, you know, burning bodies…

This story is just shocking beyond…

Yeah, it's just incredibly shocking.

I was concerned about the body that was used as a decoy,

and the identity of this person and…

Who was this innocent person and what about their family?

Let's take you to our lead story now.

Quite a shocking one this time as well.

The South African Police Service, SAPS, has confirmed

that the charred body found in cell 35 has been identified.

…confirmation that the body found was that of Katlego Bereng.

The family in the Free State is shattered.

Katlego Bereng was a young man, uh, from Bloemfontein.

His family described him as respectful,

and his friends described him as someone who was more of a community leader

than he was anything else.

So it was quite tragic for them when they found out that his body was used

in the commission of this crime,

but also because they'd been searching for him for such a long time

and didn't know where he was.

We have buried Katlego.

We still can't wait for the day that justice will be done.

Because I know Katlego will never come back.

But the God I pray to every day will hear my prayers.

God will hear my prayers. One day.

What happened with Katlego Bereng… I cry.

I think of that guy, and I cry all the time.

We still don't know how he died, but we know they have violated his body.

What were they thinking? What was inside their hearts?

What was inside their souls?

I mean, this kind of darkness,

I never knew or imagined that is humanly possible.

I believe that Nandipha and Thabo didn't really care much

about anything and anyone else,

as long as the means justified the end to them.

It didn't matter who they hurt, as long as it secured Bester's freedom.

Some people have tweeted Nandipha and called her a friend.

Now they're deleting tweets.

Everyone is on a deleting spree now.

Even a lot of celebrities are deleting pictures.

-Oh, yeah, they've all deleted… -Yeah, they've all…

We had her here. We…

-We had no idea. -There's no ways we would've known.

People on Twitter saying,

"So, Penny, that was your doctor? You were going to that doctor?"

And I was like, "Yes, it was, and she was very good for my skin,

and she did a great job."

Everybody is like, "Oh, she's not my friend," whatever.

Everyone had called to say,

can they please have their pictures taken down from her social media.

They want no association.

Because they've also had brands to protect and reputations to protect,

and also, power of association is a very big thing.

She must face the music. She knew exactly what she was doing.

Uh, I don't feel nothing for her.

She must be prosecuted because she has committed crime.

People don't feel sorry for her,

because not only did she get herself into this situation,

but she, you know, continued being in that situation.

And it's hard to believe that Bester would've concocted this plot all alone.

It's a situation that I don't think most of us understand.

She could've seen a side of him that we've never seen before.

We don't know what she was thinking.

We do not know what state she was in, and we do not know what led her.

Perhaps the guy has manipulated her in a way

that there was no way of her getting out. She would be in danger.

Is it psychological, or is it, um, really love?

Bester and his co-accused, Dr Nandipha Magudumana,

are expected to appear in person today in the Bloemfontein Magistrates' Court

to face charges related to his escape.

And this is absolutely going to make

for an interesting turn of events

because this is the very first time that Thabo Bester physically appears in court

alongside Dr Nandipha Magudumana.

The moments before they had brought Thabo in,

there were questions around what actually transpired between the two of them.

Their existence at that point was shrouded in mystery and folklore,

rather than it being reality, so we just needed to see them in person.

There it is. The infamous couple.

Whoa!

Wow! Wow!

Yeah. Yeah.

It's stuff out of a romantic movie type of set-up. It's crazy.

Wow! Wow!

I'm like… I'm like, "Whoa!"

There's this smile, and,

you know, this familiar smirk between the two of them.

You know, it's almost clear that… that she was smitten by him.

I'm just like, "Yeah.

Those people, you can see that they know each other. They're together."

And the cameras don't matter.

It's us, it's me and you here right now.

Nothing else really matters.

But it's the Titanic. It's sinking.

This needs to be used as evidence in court. I refuse!

No criminal should be this happy and smitten.

I guess that's why it became the TikTok sinking mess.

That's what it is.

And she's smiling.

We-We seem to get so caught up in the whole Bonnie and Clyde moment

that we forget this is a very serious case.

Very serious. Very.

You know, people have lost their lives here.

-Yeah. -It's a disgrace to say the least.

This is the moment I actually wish I was in court.

I was probably gonna get arrested for attacking him.

'Cause I was gonna be one of those guys you see

on those American court TV shows where a relative just lunges at the person.

'Cause he's got that smirk as well,

that arrogant smirk of, "Catch me if you can.

Now you've caught me. So what.

What you gonna do about it?" type of attitude.

One can then tell that, this is a willing participant.

But willing participant to which level?

Are you gonna choose family?

Or are you going to choose your lover?

What do I make out of this now?

Does it mean she's not the person I knew her to be?

Or is this the new her that I was not yet introduced to?

I don't know whether I felt betrayed nor protected.

Had I known, would I not have found myself,

in some way or the other, involved and an accomplice?

Therefore, did she respect and love me so much that she protected me?

The initial shock of her arrest had evaporated with time.

It was expected for Nandipha to apply for bail.

Dr Nandipha Magudumana, she's applying for bail

in the Bloemfontein Magistrates' Court.

The state says if granted bail, Dr Nandipha Magudumana might escape.

The question is, will she start singing?

Will she tell us the truth?

All the information we need, this is the woman you need to talk to.

A sobbing Nandipha Magudumana sat in the dock

while her affidavit was being read out in court.

"I was instructed and commanded by accused number 5

to get into a vehicle and leave the premises

to a destination unknown to me at the time."

Magudumana claims that she was scared, defenceless and helpless.

According to her, she was forced by Thabo Bester

to leave South Africa, which is a sharp contrast really

to the display of affection that we saw earlier this month

when she appeared alongside Thabo Bester…

"I refused and wanted an explanation,

but he forced me into a vehicle.

I succumbed to the pressure due to the threats he directed at me.

I complied with his instructions and was taken out of the country against my will."

Was she taken against her will?

Was she coerced into, you know, going with him at that point?

When we think "kidnap", we think "gun",

put a… something over your head, throw you in the car

and then, when I remove it, we're in the middle of the N1

driving towards the border of Musina.

'Cause that's what we think kidnap is.

I don't think so. I think it's more of, like,

that level of manipulation of like, "You don't have a choice.

If you don't come with me, no one else is going to save you.

I'm the only person you have."

And once you're a victim of someone's manipulation

and they've psychologically programmed you,

it's that thing of, like, why do domestic violence victims never leave?

It's that paralysis.

My theory is that Bester was calling the shots

and this guy was using her as a pawn.

And I felt like she was far gone.

Thabo Bester was in charge and in control of her life and decisions and choices.

Listen.

This is my house. So you are going to listen to me! Do you hear me?

Tom speaks and you listen.

You are a wife in this house. You don't run shit!

-He's abusive. -Mmm.

What's that he said?

"I'll come and take your ass!"

-Mmm. -"I'm the man in this house!"

You must know, this line does not ring and you don't pick up.

I don't give a fuck who you're with.

Dr Magudumana may have told the authorities

that she had been abused.

The clear question that would be asked

if she makes an argument of, "Well, I was a victim of GBV"…

Well, why did you then assist this man in getting released from prison?

I don't think she was kidnapped.

Like, they were running away, and she knew exactly what was happening.

Easy to say all of those things right now,

that you were swindled and you were brainwashed.

You know, it's easy to say all of those things now.

But this… this had gone on for years.

At which point do you realise…

Now? You realise it now after… Now that you're caught?

I also think Bonnie and Clyde also thought about the scenario

of them being arrested.

I don't think they were stupid enough and naive not to, hmm?

Don't you think they've had a conversation about that?

"What's the game plan?" That's what I'm thinking now.

Magudumana told the court that, although separated from her husband,

she remained a married woman with two minor children.

The state hit back…

"The applicant deserted the children since March 2023.

The applicant was never visited by her husband and children

since her arrest and detention."

Bail was denied.

Magudumana will spend Christmas behind bars, away from her two minor children.

I really feel for her,

but she is where she needs to be.

I mean, you cannot do things and, you know,

get away with them because you're a doctor.

The reality of it is victims can lead a double life,

but the law is the law.

Thabo Bester.

He did this and he didn't really care about Nandipha,

'cause he's got nothing to lose.

Thabo Bester and co-accused are back

in the Bloemfontein Magistrates' Court this morning.

Bester and his co-accused, Dr Nandipha Magudumana, are expected

to appear in person today…

I can't believe someone like Thabo is

actually being given exactly what he wants.

The attention that he desires.

When you look at a serial killer, for example,

sometimes it's better if they get caught

so that they can get credit for all their work, you know?

So it came as no surprise, what he did next in court.

Uh, yes, Mr Bester, I see you raising your hand.

First of all, your Honour, you have the media

that has tarnished and destroyed me on no facts.

It is already confirmed that Thabo Bester is a rapist and a murderer.

But there's no evidence.

It's already confirmed that I've escaped.

But no one knows the true facts.

I feel it's unfair for these people that are sitting here

as my so-called accused to be in court

when I know very well they have nothing to do with this.

I request that the public signs a petition and I be given a death sentence

and immediately I will agree to it so we end this matter

and release these people because they knew nothing.

Yeah, I watched it and I saw right through him.

He's the arrogant person that he always is.

That is just classic Thabo Bester.

It's the entitlement that prison was beneath him.

Bester went on a half-an-hour tirade to the court

while Dr Magudumana wept tearlessly.

I'm sitting there, I'm going, "This is a whole medical doctor.

Like, what happened?"

Like, what happened?

Nandipha and Bester, at the moment, hold the key to…

to everything.

How this started, how they met, how it was that all these role-players got involved

in probably the biggest escape in South African history.

What are the things that could have driven her to, like,

really throw away her life in that manner?

Hey.

I know that they're trying to kill me.

They will try and destroy everything I care about.

If I ever fucking call this phone and you don't pick up,

I will show you what I'm capable of!

You really gave it up for this man…

I didn't have anyone. I didn't have anything.

…who really had absolutely nothing to offer you.

You will regret it with your life!

Did you hear me?

You're trying to reconcile the two aspects of her personality,

and the rationale behind her thinking is something very confusing.

You're a Godly-given child, Nandz.

She allegedly did all the logistics, she did all the legwork

just to see this serial rapist being set free.

And we do not know what led her to act in that manner.

I will fucking squeeze you so hard, my sister.

You will regret the day you met me in your life.

Nandipha is not street-smart.

Probably, she even believed that this guy is innocent.

I know I didn't kill her.

But she did what she did and she has to face the music.

Her actions undoubtedly show one that there was a void.

I know they will come at you.

The mystery part now is, what could have caused that void?

I will fucking murder you!

So do not piss me off!

Let's wait for Nandipha.

There is a lot I think she's still going to do.

Yes.

There is a lot that is coming.

And after everything that's happened,

will we ever really know the truth?