Thabo Bester: ‘Lamola, Cele must take the heat’ – Action Society

As the embarrassing Thabo Bester prison escape blunder continues to grip the country, civil society group Action Society has called for Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola and Police Minister Bheki Cele to be held accountable for the debacle.

Bester, dubbed the “Facebook rapist” for his crimes, escaped from the Mangaung Correctional Centre, in Bloemfontein in May 2022 after it was believed he had committed suicide by setting himself alight in his cell.

However, over the weekend, an investigation by the Department of Correctional Services, which originally declared him dead, revealed that the charred body found in his cell was not that of the convicted murderer and rapist.

Bester has in fact been alive and at large for the last nine months, until he was spotted buying free range chicken at Woolworths in Sandton.

Accountability

Action Society Western Cape coordinator, Kaylynn Palm, said Lamola, Cele and the relevant “incompetent commissioners” should be held accountable for the Bester blunder.

“If a skills audit is not done among senior managers of the relevant departments, and the G4S group is not held accountable, far worse will happen in the future. 

“A skills audit of especially senior managers will not only expose political appointments, but corruption too. Merit must outweigh the political interference that has caused most of these problems,” the group said.

Broken Saps

Palm said the Bester case is a “clear example of broken the Saps is.”

“If the DNA backlog had been sorted and cleared last year – the DNA results would have been out at the time of the fire incident. Now ten months later, the results have surfaced, which once again shows Cele’s betrayal of citizens.”

ALSO READ: Thabo Bester: Police open murder case against Facebook rapist

Father worried about daughter

Meanwhile, the father of Nandipha Magudumana, the popular doctor who was in a relationship with Bester told eNCA he is worried about his daughter who has gone into hiding.

Following’s Bester’s escape it is reported that the two were living together in a lavish mansion in Hyde Park.

The father told the news station he does not know whereabouts of his daughter.

“One time she was in touch with me when all this fracas was happening. She was asking about her moms health and she said she’s hiding…I am very worried about her,  I don’t want any person to know her whereabouts because I don’t trust anybody,” Nandipha’s father said.

Nandipha’ father said he was not aware that his daughter was involved in a relationship the Facebook rapist.

Manhunt

Police have since launched a search for the fugitive who was serving a life sentence for murder and rape at the maximum security prison operated by security company G4S.

ALSO READ: State can be sued if Bester harms public while on the run