A family in Eikenhof — where convicted rapist, murderer and conman Thabo Bester spent most of his childhood — has given their own version of the so-called Facebook rapist’s background and birth.
The two Albertan sisters, Erika Bezuidenhout (53) and Marlene Venter (59), went down memory lane in a Monday, 24 April, interview with Netwerk24 — sharing fond and dreadful memories about the Bester family.
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SISTERS CLAIM MABASO DID NOT TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT HER SON
The information Bezuidenhout (53) and 59-year-old Venter shared, seemingly does not correlate with the recent interview Bester’s mother, Meisie Maria Mabaso, revealed to Eye Witness News (EWN). The sisters say that her interview got them hot under the collar, as they do not remember her version.
According to 58-year-old Mabaso, she was raped by an unknown man; later giving birth to Bester at the age of 17. The Department of Home Affairs revealed last week that Bester was born on 13 June 1986 — making him 36 years old.
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She also told the media outlet that she took care of her son until the age of one. Her mother, Johanna Bester then took him into her custody while she worked.
The sisters, who said their parents were Johanna’s employers, said that they do not remember Mabaso and the arrested rapist’s background in that manner.
Bezuidenhout, who said Mabaso is five years her senior, claimed that she was around the age of 21 when she gave birth to Bester.
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They also told Netwerk24 that his father was a Portuguese cafe owner.
“If she was raped, we don’t know about it. For as long as we can remember, we were told the Portuguese owner of a local cafe and greengrocer was his father. Meisie left him there with Johanna and never came back,” the sister’s claimed.
According to the sisters, who claim to have grown up with Mabaso, she abandoned her son when he was less than a week old. Bester was raised by Johanna and her partner Abel Bester.
A few years later, Bester’s sister, Sibongile (whom everyone called Stompie), was born.
“Stompie also lived with Johanna for the first few years, but later Meisie was back and she only came to collect Stompie,” said the sisters.
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According to an October 2011 article by IOL, the community members of Eikenhof also pointed to a shop owner when asked about his father’s identity.
The article was published two months after he killed his then-girlfriend and saleswoman Nomfundo Tyhulu — whose murder he was convicted for in November 2012. Ten years later, he escaped from Mangaung Correctional Centre in Bloemfontein by staging his death in a fire that broke out in his cell.
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The story about the identity of the murderer and rapist’s father was corroborated by Twitter user, @tahepo16, who said he grew up with him and they know him as TK.
Tahepo claimed that although he had never seen Bester’s father, locals said he was a foreign national who “ran a shop”. The Twitter user also claimed his father is Portuguese.
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