Batho Mpholo demands to know how his son, Katlego Bereng Mpholo, whose body was used in Thabo Bester's prison escape, died
Thabo Bester broke out of prison last year after faking his death by setting fire to his cell.
A body was found inside, initially believed to be Bester's, but it has now been identified as belonging to Katlego Bereng Mpholo.
His father, Batho Mpholo, says he needs "the truth and nothing but the truth."
He says that police told him that his son had collapsed in Bloemfontein and died in hospital before he was taken to a mortuary.
Batho has asked in an interview with the ENCA news channel how did Thabo Bester get hold of his son's body if he was in a government mortuary. He later said he would sue the state.
When the body found in the cell was re-examined in March this year after local media raised suspicions, it was found that the person had died due to blunt-force trauma to the head.
Mr. Mpholo says he does not believe the police account of what had happened to his son, who was aged 30 when he went missing in April 2022.
The South African police declined to comment on Mr. Mpholo's statement beyond saying they were pleased to bring closure to the family.
Mr. Mpholo says that relatives went to Bloemfontein's mortuaries looking for him, and there was no sign of him - and no news until his mother was asked to do a DNA test last week.
Mr. Mpholo describes his son as a fun-loving soccer fan who leaves behind a daughter aged four and a son aged two.
He says the family has not yet seen his body, and so hasn't been able to start organizing a funeral.
Katlego Bereng Mpholo's mother, Monica Matsie, cried while interviewed by national broadcaster SABC.
During the confusion caused by the fire in the Mangaung Correctional Centre in Bloemfontein, Bester escaped prison dressed as a warder.
News of the escape caused widespread shock and outrage in South Africa, where local media dubbed him the "Facebook rapist" because he used the site to lure women with promises of jobs before attacking them.
He had been serving a life sentence after being convicted in 2012 for the rape and murder of his model girlfriend, Nomfundo Tyhulu. The previous year, he had been found guilty of raping and robbing two other women.
After his escape, Bester managed to live undetected for a year before he was arrested earlier this month in Tanzania and then deported to South Africa, along with his girlfriend, celebrity doctor Nandipha Magudumana.
Ms. Magudumana, her father, and two employees of the British security firm G4S which ran the prison, have been arrested for allegedly helping him escape. They have not yet commented on the accusations.
SOURCE: BBC News
