Cape Town - The search for answers about the death of 32-year-old Katlego Mpholo continues, after his family were on Monday allegedly told they could not view his body yet as investigations were still ongoing.
Mpholo’s partner and the mother of his youngest child, Thandiwe Boleme, said the news of Mpholo’s death came as a shock, as she never thought his body would be used as a decoy in convicted murder and rapist Thabo Bester’s prison escape.
“The last I spoke to him he was supposed to look after the child for the night, but he said he had somewhere to be and that’s the last I heard or saw him.
“I noticed after his birthday had passed without hearing a word from him, that something was wrong.
The family did try to look for him in hospitals and mortuaries, but he was never found.
“He was a loving father to his child. He even had a tattoo of the child’s name on his body as a symbol of how much he loved his child and they were very close.
“It’s very hard. I don't know what to say as I never expected that he would die this way,” she said.
Mpholo’s charred body was found in cell 35 at Mangaung Correctional Centre in May last year.
For almost a year, his body was believed to be that of Bester, who had escaped from the prison, allegedly with the assistance of his celebrity girlfriend doctor Nandipha Magudumana and four other accused.
According to news reports, Mpholo’s post-mortem findings, made by the registrar of forensic pathology in the Free State, also showed extensive, post-mortem burn wounds and charring of his whole body.
There were signs consistent with the use of an accelerant (paraffin).
Police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe said the charred body found in the cell had been identified following a direct match with the biological mother of the deceased.
Magudumana’s father, Zolile Sekeleni, 65, and three others were also arrested on different days and are facing various charges in relation to Bester’s escape. Bester’s case is set to resume in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court on May 16.
Bester’s case is set to resume in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court on May 16.
Cape Times