A 39‑year‑old former G4S employee and a 65‑year‑old man are expected to appear in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court today in connection with Thabo Bester’s escape from prison. The South African Police Service (SAPS) national spokesperson, Athlenda Mathe, said a multi‑disciplinary team investigating the escape from the Mangaung Correctional Centre arrested the duo over the weekend. The former G4S employee was taken into custody at his Bloemfontein residence on Saturday, 8 April 2023, while the 65‑year‑old man was arrested on Friday, 7 April 2023, at his home in Port Edward, KwaZulu‑Natal. Both suspects have been charged with aiding and abetting a convicted prisoner to escape from lawful custody.
G4S, a multinational security company, operated and partly owned the Mangaung Correctional Centre where Bester was incarcerated. GroundUp previously broke the story of Bester’s escape in May 2022. The fugitive, his girlfriend Dr Nandipha Magudumana, and a third person believed to be a Mozambican national were arrested on Friday night in Tanzania, near the Kenyan border. Mathe announced that a delegation led by SAPS Deputy National Commissioner for Policing, Lieutenant General Tebello Mosikili, has arrived in Arusha, Tanzania, and is working with Tanzanian counterparts to finalise the legal processes required to bring Bester and his accomplices to justice in South Africa.
National Commissioner of the SAPS, General Fannie Masemola, welcomed the latest arrests and said that further arrests could still occur. The 65‑year‑old man is believed to be Magudumana’s father. General Masemola reiterated the appeal to media and the public to exercise patience and allow investigators to conduct their work without undue pressure or expectation.
Correctional Services National Commissioner Makgothi Thobakgale announced last month the appointment of a temporary manager for the correctional facility. Findings from the Correctional Services investigation indicate that Bester was assisted in escaping lawful custody on 3 May 2022, despite the contractor’s claim that he died in his cell. Thobakgale noted that a private vehicle entered the facility without a gate pass on the day of the escape, possibly carrying an unidentified body that was burnt beyond recognition in the cell. He added that tampering with surveillance cameras points to a deliberately orchestrated failure of the monitoring system to conceal crucial evidence and the individuals who aided Bester’s escape, representing a breach of the contractor’s responsibilities to ensure the safe custody of inmates.
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