On Saturday, the South African government announced that Thabo Bester, a convicted rapist who escaped from a privately-run prison in Bloemfontein in May last year, has been apprehended in Tanzania.
Bester had faked his own death in a prison break that embarrassed authorities, and South African police only found out about his escape last month.
According to Justice Minister Ronald Lamola, Bester was arrested by Tanzanian authorities on Friday night along with a woman he is reportedly romantically involved with and another person.
The suspects were each in possession of several passports and were attempting to leave the country when authorities apprehended them.
Tanzanian authorities have identified the third person as Zakaria Alberto. Bester, dubbed the “Facebook rapist”, was believed to have killed at least one victim and had been sentenced to life in prison for rape, robbery, and murder.
A South African delegation is expected to travel to Tanzania to bring the fugitives back, and the authorities are confident that they will receive cooperation from Tanzania to assist them in bringing Bester to justice.
