Illustration of Thabo Bester by Lisa Nelson Photo GroundUp
South Africa – In the early hours of this morning, Thabo Bester and Dr Nandipha Sekeleni Magudumana were brought back to South Africa via Lanseria Airport. Speaking at a press conference at 8am, Police Minister, Bheki Cele said forensics had confirmed the two people were in fact Bester and Sekeleni. With him behind bars once again, officials can start to look at who Bester truly is underneath his mask.
Gerard Labuschagne, Former SAPS investigative psychologist, had the unique chance of interviewing Bester back in 2011. At the time Bester had just been arrested for the two rapes he committed in KwaZulu-Natal and the murder in Cape Town. Labuschagne was called for two reasons, to give detectives an insight into who Bester was and also to be an expert witness if he was called upon.
Labuschagne was convinced Bester was a serial rapist who was quickly devolving into a serial murderer after committing his first murder in Cape Town. As for him as a person, Bester was more like a con man who escalated from petty crimes to sexual crimes.
“Everything he tells you, you have to second guess. In the interview itself, he would really portray himself as having this very horrific upbringing involving sexual abuse towards him, not knowing who his father was, a troubled upbringing etc. But again, you have to be aware of the person you are talking to. You cannot believe a word that comes out of his mouth. It is about impression management.”
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The manner in which he spoke about his crimes
During the interview, Bester always tried to downplay his crimes in a way and gain sympathy from the interviewer, said Labuschagne. This speaks to conniving ways which didn’t stop even when he was in prison and after he escaped. In fact, Labuschagne believes he got better at being a con man when he was in prison.
“When he spoke about the cases he said, ‘with the rapes I only realized afterwards that what I’d done was rape’. With the murder he said, ‘I can plead guilty to bringing a knife into the argument but I can’t plead guilty to murdering her because that’s not what I set out to do’. Always kind of admitting to something but softening it to try and create that sympathetic impression with the person that’s sitting in front of him.”
While in prison, Bester still held media events keeping up his charade. When he escaped, he continued to run scams, said Labuschagne which speaks to how manipulative he can be.
Bester manipulation and escaping prison
What Bester has done indicates a high level of intelligence. Escaping from prison and pulling multiple con jobs while also in prison is no easy task. A high level of intelligence which he decided to use in the wrong ways. His escape from prison is all due to money, intelligence and having outside help, explained Labuschagne.
“You would have to have money [to escape]. You’re not going to get yourself out of prison without bribing people with a lot of money … Money, intelligence and outside assistance allegedly by his girlfriend and other people … I think this is part of his personality. This conning manipulation. He is clearly not remorseful of his crimes because he escaped.”
Sekelenis’ father, Zolile Cornelius Sekeleni and a former G4S employee appeared before the Bloemfontein magistrate’s court on Tuesday. They were charged with murder, fraud, arson and aiding and abetting a convicted prisoner to escape from lawful custody. Getting them involved in such an act speaks to how manipulative Bester can be.
“That’s testimony to how good he is at manipulating people. These people are going to be held accountable … I think he [Bester] must bear some responsibility because without that I don’t think these people would have gotten involved in potentially criminal acts. He is going to manipulate whoever serves his purpose and once they are done serving his purpose, he is going to cast them aside. He is not going to care about these people and the impact of what he has done.”
After everything that has occurred, after Bester escalated from petty theft to rape to murder, Labuschagne has very little hope Bester can change. He is convinced that Bester’s conniving ways will never change and it is ingrained in him. For him, Bester needs to be locked up for life as there is no hope he can ever change and be a useful member of society.
To hear more from Gerard Labuschagne about Thabo Bester’s psyche and actions, listen to the podcast here:
