Cape Town – Justice minister Ronald Lamola says he will not resign over the Thabo Bester saga, saying he did “what I was supposed to do”.
“No, I’m not gonna resign because I did what I was supposed to do. And you will have heard even the judge that as he informed me, he didn’t inform with certainty that Bester escaped. He said it must be investigated, that is why I immediately called the national commissioner,” he said.
Lamola was speaking during the portfolio committee inquiry looking into the Bester escape saga
Asked whether he will resign due to the magnitude of the #ThaboBester
escape, Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola says: “No, I’m
not going to resign because I did what I was supposed to do”.He says he acted with urgency on suspicions of Bester’s escape.#Newzroom405 pic.twitter.com/YG5N5sVDAX
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) April 13, 2023
According to Times Live, the minister also detailed the costs of the private prisons, including the maximum security Mangaung Correctional Centre where Bester escaped in May 2022.
Lamola said the government won’t cancel its R45 million monthly contract with G4S amid backlash over Bester’s escape.
G4S has been contracted to run the correctional centre.
Lamola said the contract is expected to end in June 2026 and the projection until the end of the contract is over R2bn.
“The projection until the end of the contract is about R2.54bn. We are paying R45m a month for this facility,” the report quoted Lamola as saying.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
WATCH | Thabo Bester’s case postponed to 16 May
Cape Town – Convicted rapist and murderer Thabo Bester appeared before the Bloemfontein magistrate’s court on Thursday.
Bester was held at the Kgosi Mampuru Prison in Pretoria after escaping from a privately-run prison last year.
His appearance came a day after his girlfriend Nandipha Magudumana appeared in the same court.
His case was postponed to 16 May.
According to eNCA, Bester’s request to address the court was denied.
He raised concerns about feeling unsafe and fearing that he could be poisoned, the report said.
Captured Fugitive #ThaboBester appears at the Bloemfontein Magistrates court. He has just walked into court. pic.twitter.com/yUvGlhoiXu
— Manqoba Mchunu (@ManqobaMchunu) April 14, 2023
THABO BESTER APPEARS IN COURT https://t.co/GrBXXRz3HG
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) April 14, 2023
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Thabo Bester was born in SA but not registered with Home Affairs – Motsoaledi
Cape Town – Minister Aaron Motsoaledi says convicted murderer and rapist Thabo Bester was born in South Africa but was not registered with Home Affairs.
The minister briefed the media on Thabo Bester’s escape on Thursday.
The minister said Bester was found with an American passport in the name of Tom Williams Kelly when he was arrested in Tanzania.
It remained unknown whether the passport was fake or fraudulently obtained.
HOME AFFAIRS BRIEFING ON THABO BESTER’S ESCAPE https://t.co/4oUSsgtqTo
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) April 14, 2023
Meanwhile, police confirmed on Friday that Bester will be appearing at the Bloemfontein Magistrates Court.
There was speculation earlier that his appearance would be virtual but it was later confirmed that he will appear physically.
Security has been heightened around the courthouse.
Bester was serving a life sentence imprisonment at the time of his escape.
He at this stage faces a charge of escaping from lawful custody, defeating the ends of justice, violation of a dead body and fraud.
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Thabo Bester’s escape: Lamola says his dept takes ‘full responsibility’
Cape Town – Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola has agreed with MPs that his department failed Thabo Bester’s victims and said that he took full responsibility.
A parliamentary committee on justice and correction services on Thursday examined various authorities on the matter.
Lamola, who was present in the committee meeting, offered an apology to Bester’s victims and said he was sorry “this dangerous criminal was let loose”.
He said the justice department took “full responsibility for this”.
“I also want to take this opportunity to apologise to the victims of the convicted rapist #ThaboBester and to all the people of SA that this convicted criminal was let loose to the public by the G4S officials, as the DCS we take full responsibility for this.” – Min Ronald Lamola. pic.twitter.com/N2GGSTEsJI
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) April 13, 2023
Former judge Edwin Cameron, who inspects the correctional services facilities, told the committee he “conceded that everyone should have been… quicker” in making the matter public, saying the announcement was “lamentably late”.
Reports said that Bester ran a glamorous media company while inside prison.
He “made enormous amounts of money while inside” the jail “that certainly was signalled to us by the two G4S officials,” Cameron said.
The London-headquartered security firm appeared before the committee on Wednesday. – AFP
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Source: AFP
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Thabo Bester expected in Bloemfontein court on Friday
Cape Town – Convicted rapist and murderer Thabo Bester is reportedly expected to appear in the Bloemfontein Magistrates Court on Friday.
Bester returned to prison in South Africa on Thursday after fleeing to Tanzania.
According to IOL, in a short text, national police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe confirmed Bester would be appearing in court on Friday.
His appearance comes a day after his so-called customary wife, disgraced doctor and mother of two, Nandipha Magudumana, made her first appearance in the same court flanked by heavily armed police on Thursday.
She had a hoodie over her head and a mask covering her face.
Magudumana was charged with murder, fraud, aiding and abetting, violation of a dead body and defeating the ends of justice.
Bester and Magudumana returned to South Africa via a chartered flight from Tanzania in the early hours of Thursday morning.
ALSO READ | ‘He must go to Kokstad prison. Kgosi Mampuru can’t be trusted at all’ – Malema on Thabo Bester
They were arrested in Arusha, Tanzania, last Friday by authorities in that country.
Bester had been sentenced to life in prison for rape, robbery and murder in 2012. He lured victims on Facebook before raping and robbing them. He killed at least one victim.
Dubbed the “Facebook rapist”, Bester escaped from the Mangaung Correctional Centre almost a year ago but police said they only found out last month.
In May 2022, the charred body of a man was found in Bester’s cell, leading prison authorities to believe at first that he had set himself on fire.
DNA evidence later revealed the body belonged to someone else, and police launched a murder investigation late last month.
Four other people have recently been arrested in connection with the escape plot, including Magudumana’s father.
The father allegedly aided Bester’s prison break and was earlier this week charged with murder in connection with the man found dead in Bester’s cell. He will also appear in court alongside his daughter next week.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
Additional information by AFP
