Thabo Bester escape response plan ‘underwhelming’, portfolio committee declares

The plan to tighten security at prisons has left much to be desired, said members of the Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services.

Officials from the Department of Correctional Services (DSC) appeared before the committee on Tuesday to relay the action plan they were forced to formulate by the public protector.

Following Thabo Bester’s escape from the privately-run Mangaung Correctional Centre in 2022, DCS has faced pressure to revise its inmate monitoring strategies.

Escape response plan

DCS officials acknowledged that privately-run prisons like the one Bester escaped from did not have policies in line with the department, stating that the standardisation of procedures would be implemented.

The revised policy includes guided support for wardens, greater communication with the Department of Justice, and identification of high-risk detainees awaiting trial or conviction.

ALSO READ: More than two prisoners for every square metre of SA’s cells

The DCS officials said that most escapes occurred while inmates were being treated in public hospitals, and they pledged tighter security measures around escort, transfer and visitation areas.

Other measures related to the reporting of security breaches timeously, the logging of complaints and other HR functions.

Anticipating the committee members were expecting more from the presentation, Deputy Minister of Correctional Services Lindiwe Ntshalintshali preempted their questions.

“There [are] details, from a security nature, which we don’t want them to plan against the department. The annexures have those details, so we were just giving that summary,” said Ntshalintshali.

Questions from committee

Committee members dismissed the action plan and presentation as “underwhelming” and a “box-ticking exercise”.

The DA’s Kabelo Kgobisa-Ngcaba stated that the listed interventions were existing policies and questioned what adjustments would lead to tangible results.

ALSO READ: R36 billion needed to build new prisons to deal with overcrowding – Groenewald

Kgobisa-Ngcaba asked a question about an earlier report suggesting perimeter fencing was inadequate at half of the prisons, and highlighted that two centres in KwaZulu-Natal spent R7 million on metal detectors.

She said the presentation was a “plans to make plans”, while ActionSA’s Dereleen James questioned what action was being taken against corrupt officials.  

“At many of our prisons, many of the officials are gang-linked. The strategy does not speak to anything that addresses officials that are linked to these gangs,” James stated.

Plan not ‘static’

DCS National Commissioner Makgothi Thobakgale explained that budget constraints compromised perimeter fencing, stating that DCS has spread its resources too thin.

“One escape is one too many for us, but we do with what we have,” said Thobakgale.

Minister of Correctional Services Pieter Groenewald was not in attendance, but was privy to the contents of the presentation.  

“This document is not static and will undergo regular review,” the minister’s spokesperson Euné Oelofsen confirmed to The Citizen.

“The minister emphasises that the effectiveness of policy is inherently linked to the commitment and capability of the officials tasked with its implementation,” Oelofsen said.

NOW READ: Prison break at Pollsmoor as parliament discusses Thabo Bester