Outspoken radio and TV personality DJ Warras has been dragged after accusing convicted fraudster Thabo Bester of being a foreign national.
The former YFM presenter – whose real name is Warrick Stock – shared his controversial comments on Twitter.
WARRAS: ‘HE’S NOT FROM HERE’
Amid social media commentary on Thabo Bester’s physical appearance following his court appearances this week, DJ Warras shared his own opinion.
He tweeted of Bester: “This a Bangladeshi’ guys. Sorry. But I think we need to face facts here. He’s not from here this one….He’s an import”.
He added: “Until I see a birth certificate and a DNA test, I don’t believe that he is South African.”
Warras’s comments have been disproven by Minister of Home Affairs Aaron Motsoaledi who revealed that Bester is indeed a South African.
In a media briefing last week, the minister 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. According to members of the Eikenhof community, Bester’s biological father was a local shop owner, reported IOL.
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.
However, police have claimed that the man behind bars is indeed Thabo Bester.
National Police General Fannie Masemola said in a recent portfolio committee meeting: “He [Thabo Bester] is a South African. The person who served at the Mangaung Correctional Services Centre is the same person the Tanzanians arrested.
“When he arrived here, we also ran fingerprints. He is a South African. He is Thabo Bester.”
‘DISTASTEFUL’ AND ‘XENOPHOBIC’
Meanwhile, Twitter users accused Warras of being “xenophobic” following his comments.
@MissZanZan: “This is very distasteful. Let’s hold him accountable for his actions and leave his identity out of this”.
@localstarnews: “That’s a xenophobic statement”
@miss_pcolls: “This guy is not a foreigner, and it hurts some South Africans that he isn’t. It be your own people”.
@Vho_Jessica08: “Just stop being prejudiced! Judge him based on his criminality not on how he looks!”
The same way you are a coloured trying to be black pic.twitter.com/I2JQh0EDJn
— Tata Ka Aqhama🇿🇦 🇦🇪 🇹🇭🇵🇭 🇺🇸🇰🇪🇶🇦 (@masixole_l) April 17, 2023
ALSO READ: Same person? Thabo Bester’s court appearance confuses country
THABO BESTER: DNA TESTS TO PROVE IDENTITY
Meanwhile, the members of parliament are calling on authorities to have Thabo Bester undergo a DNA test to prove his identity.
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.
With Bester being recaptured, many parliamentary MPs want proof it is indeed the notorious fraudster.
In a Portfolio Committee meeting on Tuesday, 18 April, the Democratic Alliance’s Adrian Roos demanded Bester’s identity be verified through DNA testing.
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”.
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