Glynnis Breytenbach: The pitbull prosecutor who could make Chuck Norris cry

Nothing escapes one of South Africa’s sharpest and most tenacious legal minds. Shadow Minister of Justice Adv Glynnis Breytenbach has been hailed on social media and beyond after her fiery interrogation into the South African Police Service’s (SAPS) failures around Thabo Bester’s escape.

The Democratic Alliance MP and former prosecutor for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) cornered a hat-less — and defenceless — Police Minister Bheki Cele during day two of the Parliamentary inquiry into the escape of “Facebook rapist” and murderer Bester from Mangaung Correctional Centre on 3 May 2022.

The Citizen reported on Wednesday on Breytenbach’s relentless grilling of the private security company G4s that was contracted to run the maximum security prison in Bloemfontein at the time.

ALSO READ: WATCH: Nothing wrong with Thabo Bester having personal laptop in prison, says G4S

Breytenbach: ‘The police sat on their hands and did nothing’

Breytenbach once again showed her true grit as prosecutor on Thursday.

She came out guns blazing, tearing into Cele and Lieutenant General Baile Brenda Motswenyane with her rapid-fire questions and damning observations.

The prosecutor — who only had 15 minutes to her disposal — wasted no time in poking gaping holes in their testimony.

“The police sat on their hands and did nothing for six months so that DCS could run through the prison in Mangaung and see if Thabo Bester wasn’t in another cell?”

ALSO READ: WATCH: ‘Thabo Bester will be guarded by highly trained officers’

Cele refuses to answer prosecutor’s question

At one point, a clearly unnerved Cele refused to answer one of her questions about the seemingly pointless justification for chartering a private jet to repatriate Bester and his accomplice girlfriend Dr Nandipha Magudumana.

According to Cele, the private jet was “part of negotiations” with the Tanzanian authorities. Breytenbach immediately hit back with “So the Tanzanians wanted to fly to South Africa in a private jet? Yes or No?”

Cele bluntly refused to answer the question, suggesting the prosecutor was using “bullying tactics”.

“I am not going to answer that one. You can do that with others.”

ALSO READ: Thabo Bester and Nandipha Magudumana: Timeline of SA’s ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ saga

Tweeps in awe of Breytenbach

Heading to the Twitter streets, Tweeps were singing the praises of the razor-sharp prosecutor for taking SAPS to task with her “direct and brutal questions”. Take a look.

ALSO READ: Thabo Bester: Dr Nandipha to be charged with murder, fraud and violating bodies