Correctional Services conducted a surprise search operation at the Mangaung Correctional Centre. Picture: X/@DCS_ZA
Prisoners at the Mangaung Correctional Centre (MCC), the former “home” of notorious Facebook rapist Thabo Bester, were subjected to a surprise raid by Correctional Services officials in search of contraband and other prohibited items.
Inmates were ordered to kneel on the floor with their hands against the wall while prison officials searched their cells. Mattresses were inspected, toilet rims checked and even light fixtures scrutinised for any hidden illegal items.
The raid was led by National Commissioner of the Department of Correctional Services Makgothi Thobakgale on Thursday.
ALSO READ: Correctional Services committee urged to implement PP report on Bester escape [VIDEO]
The raid coincided with the launch of Operation Vala earlier in the day, an initiative spearheaded by Thobakgale to enhance security across all 243 prisons ahead of the festive season.
Bester escaped from Mangaung Correctional Centre, a privately run maximum-security prison, in May 2022. He faked his death in a cell fire, allegedly with the help of celebrity doctor Nandipha Magudumana and several prison officials. He and Magudumana were arrested in April 2023 and are currently awaiting trial.
Thobakgale said the raid is part of the department’s festive season security plan.
“We are part of the Justice Crime Prevention and Security cluster. We have our own brief of ensuring that in correctional settings, security is heightened, the officials and offenders are safe.”
The MCC, run by G4S, came under fire after Bester’s escape.
In May last year, Justice and Correctional Services Minister, Ronald Lamola, confirmed G4S was served with a notice for the cancellation of the contract to run Mangaung Correctional Centre.
In October, the Parliamentary Legal Services said the Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services had a constitutional duty of overseeing and monitoring the implementation of the Public Protector’s (PP) report on the escape of Bester.
The Public Protector launched an investigation in March 2023 after receiving a complaint from a member of the public that the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) had failed the public in its handling of the escape.
Advocate Kholeka Gcaleka found that there was “undue delay” in the way the DCS handled convicted murderer and rapist Bester’s prison escape from the Mangaung Correctional Centre.
Two officials have already faced disciplinary hearings and received final written warnings.
The matter of Bester’s escape is currently before the court and sub judice. Simani said in the context of the National Assembly, Rule 89 amounts to a prohibition against any committee member from making reference to any matter before the courts.
ALSO READ: Assessment of Thabo Bester cell showed ‘security violations’, says DCS
Download our app and read this and other great stories on the move. Available for Android and iOS.
