Thabo Bester’s mother says she will never go to visit him in prison. The mother of Thabo Bester, a convicted serial killer and r@pist who was deported back to South Africa after being apprehended by Tanzanian officials, said she would not be going to see him in jail.

Bester successfully carried out a risky high-stakes jail break from the G4S-run Mangaung Correctional Centre by pretending to die and placing a body in order to live a lavish lifestyle in Johannesburg.

Although he broke out of jail in May 2022, his cover was only just busted in a GroundUp exposé published in March, which showed Bester shopping at a Sandton supermarket two months after his alleged demise.

“I will allow some people to go and see him, I will never visit him, I don’t have that heart. I don’t, I don’t … I’m sure it will be my death.

“I can’t handle what I’m seeing on TV, what will happen when I see it live? … What will happen to me when I see it live? … I have other kids to live for,” said Maria Mabaso, who gave birth to Bester at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in June 1986.

Mabaso was speaking to eNCA on Friday after her son appeared in court in Bloemfontein following his re-arrest in Tanzania with Dr. Nandipha Magudumana, a well-known figure.

Mabaso said she wants her son to change and be a better person.

“This child will kill me, he will kill me, this is a death sentence of a child, he won’t die, he’s still young. I’m old, I’m going to die,” she said.

Mabaso gave birth to Bester on June 13, 1986, when she was just 16 years old.

She gave Bester to his grandmother Johanna Bester, who has since died.

She denied that she abandoned her son and said it was Bester who didn’t want to live with her.

“He was never home when I went to visit. My mother brought him with his sister to come and stay with me

“He went back to my home and the younger sister stayed … He should not blame me, he’s the one who ran away from me,” she told the broadcaster.

Mabaso claimed she was ignorant about her son’s opulent lifestyle with Magudumana but hoped he had at least offered to help her financially.

“He should have helped his mother, even if its not that much… You can’t abandon your mother,” she said.

In the meantime, one of the first and earliest indications of Bester’s alleged demise in Cell 35 at the Bloem prison was Mabaso’s DNA.

Mabaso was approached by police to collect DNA samples from the body discovered at Cell 35. No DNA match was made.

This occurred as Magudumana, claiming to be Bester’s traditional wife, sought the North Gauteng High Court in May of last year. Her original plan was to cremate the body.

Bester has informed the court that he will not be applying for bail just yet.

As of right now, former G4S employee Senohe Ishmael Matsoara, Tebogo James Lipholo, Magadumana’s father Zolile Cornelius Sikelele, and Integritron CCTV technician Senohe Ishmael Matsoara are also among those detained in connection with Bester’s escape.

On Monday, they are all scheduled to appear in court in Bloemfontein.