Despite being re-arrested and facing multiple charges, a big cloud of confusion remains over Thabo Bester’s head. Is it really the “Facebook Rapist” behind bars, or could it be an imposter?
With questions swirling over his identity, authorities now demand a DNA test to prove it is indeed him. The tests will confirm if Maria Mabaso is his biological mother.
Bester – a convicted rapist and murderer – had his DNA samples taken in 2011 during his original trial. However, they were never tested, claims Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi.
There’s also the fact that Bester has no official identity documents.
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THABO BESTER: DNA TESTS TO PROVE IDENTITY
Earlier this month, Maria Mabaso told the media that she had conceived Thabo Bester after being raped as a teenager.
Her DNA tests were taken after Bester “died in a fire” at the Mangaung Correctional Centre in Pretoria last year. But the results proved that a dead body in his cell was not indeed him and that he had foiled an elaborate prison escape.
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With Bester being recaptured, many parliamentary MPs want proof it is indeed the notorious fraudster.
On social media, South Africans have expressed doubt about Bester’s appearance compared to previous mugshots.
In a Portfolio Committee meeting on Tuesday, 18 April, the Democratic Alliance’s Adrian Roos demanded Bester’s identity be verified through DNA testing.
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He said: “There seems to be some form of special treatment here because there’s this circumstantial evidence and that circumstantial evidence, then we will just take their word for it. Somebody who has already swapped themselves for somebody else.”
DA MP Glynnis Breytenbach added: “South Africans are entitled to know if that man in police custody is the correct person”.
WHO ARE HIS PARENTS?
In a media briefing last week, the Minister of Home Affairs revealed Meisie Maria Mabaso gave birth to Thabo Bester on 13 June 1986 at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto. Maria never registered his birth.
Mabaso had conceived Bester after being raped by an unknown man in the area.
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She told EWN: “That’s a heavy case. When I was growing up, my cousin and I were going to [visit] my sister. But the bus left us, and we asked [someone] for a lift.
“When we were near our road, that man nearly killed me; he raped me. Lucky I didn’t die. That’s how Thabo was born”.
Bester – the oldest of four children – was sent off to live with his maternal grandmother Johanna Bester. After she died in 2002, Bester allegedly pursued a life of crime. He also failed to apply for an ID document.
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As previously reported by The South African, members of the Eikenhof community where Bester grew up claimed his biological father was a local shop owner.
This was revealed in court proceedings in 2011. His identity has never been made public.
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