WATCH LIVE: G4S explains Thabo Bestor’s prison escape blunder to Parliament

As the saga around convicted murderer and “Facebook rapist” Thabo Bester intensifies, a two-day inquiry into his brazen prison escape has begun in Parliament.

G4S a no-show in Parliament

Last week, the Justice and Correctional Services Portfolio Committee had to postpone the meeting after G4S, the global security company contracted to manage Bloemfontein’s Mangaung Correctional Centre, was a no-show in Parliament, leaving MPs frustrated.

DCS National Commissioner Makgothi Thobakgale, last month conceded G4S had lost control of the prison and announced that G4S was no longer in charge of operations at the maximum security prison.

WATCH LIVE: Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services briefing around Thabo Bester’s escape from Mangaung Correctional Centre.

Thabo Bester re-arrest

After more than nine months on the run, Bester and his ‘wife’ Dr Nandipha Magudumana, were nabbed in Tanzania over the weekend.

The “Bonnie and Clyde” couple were arrested alongside Mozambican national Zakaria Alberto, who was “assisting” them in their cross-border escape.

ALSO READ: Thabo Bester and Dr. Nandipha Magudumana arrested in Tanzania

G4S guard and Dr Nandipha’s father

Over the Easter weekend, two men, a former security guard and the father of Dr Nandipha, were arrested for allegedly aiding and abetting Bester in faking his death to escape Mangaung Correctional Centre last year.

Bester escape

Bester escaped from the Mangaung Correctional Centre on 3 May 2022 after it was initially believed he had committed suicide by setting himself alight in his cell.

However, the Department of Correctional Services (DCS), which initially declared him dead, confirmed that the charred body found in his cell was not Bester, who was convicted in 2012.

Bester had been alive and at large for the last nine months.

Police have since registered a case of murder, which is currently under investigation.

According to the autopsy report, the deceased had died due to blunt force trauma to the head and was already dead before the arson incident.

A case of escape from lawful custody was also registered with the police.

Repatriation

Meanwhile, Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola said a South African delegation left for Tanzania on Monday to secure the repatriation of Bester and Magudumana.

Additional reporting by Molefe Seeletsa and Gareth Cotterell

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