Following the brazen escape of Facebook rapist Thabo Bester from the Mangaung Correctional Centre, the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) National Commissioner, Makgothi Thobakgale, has conceded that contractor G4S boss had lost control of Mangaung prison.
Thobakgale was briefing the media at the Mangaung Prison on Thursday morning about Bester’s escape from the facility.
Securing Mangaung Prison
Thobakgale said the department had taken measures to secure the prison by appointing a temporary senior manager to take over the facility immediately.
The temporary manager, Patrick Ali Mashabathakga, is expected to assume the functions of the director, in line with provisions in the Correctional Services Act.
“The temporary manager is a DCS official with experience running a super maximum security prison. We have in the past taken over running Mangaung and he was part of that team,” explained Thobakgale.
Calculated escape
Thobakgale also admitted that Bester’s escape was well planned.
“It’s clear that as correctional services we are dealing with a calculated escape debacle. The Saps continues to investigate this matter as it has elements of criminality. Bester was assisted to escape. But contractor maintains he died in his cell.”
“The step we take today is drastic. We are directly involved in managing the running of this prison so that we can stabilise it. The fact that Bester could run illegal activities from prison is one of the reasons why we are taking over,” Thobakgale said.
He said Bester’s escape was one of its kind.
“This is the first escape that DCS is dealing with that had so many lapses in security operations.”
Manhunt
Thobakgale said a tracking and tracing team had been established to find Bester and he appealed to the public to come forward with any leads.
“We remain confident we will find Bester. We will leave no stone unturned to getting to the bottom of this incident,” Thobakgale said.
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 earlier this month.
