Johannesburg – The Department of Correctional Services says it is “duty-bound” to put in place strict security measures, within the confines of the law, to prevent convicted murderer and rapist Thabo Bester from escaping.
In an extraordinary step, the department on Wednesday, (31 July 2024), issued a lengthy public statement responding to Bester’s court address during his pre-trial conference on 3 June 2024.
Bester, who escaped from the Mangaung prison in May 2022 was rearrested in Tanzania and brought back to South Africa to continue serving his prison sentence.
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In the statement, departmental spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said Bester was being held in “safe custody” with “human dignity” in the C-Max high-security section at Kgoši Mampuru II Correctional Facility in, Pretoria, Tshwane.
Dismissing Bester’s complaints about his prison conditions, Nxumalo said it was not true that he was kept in “solitary confinement” for 23 hours of the day.
“C-Max, at Kgoši Mampuru, is a high-security facility. It comprises only single cells. Hence, all inmates in the facility do not share a cell,” explained Nxumalo.
“Therefore, the impression created by Thabo Bester that he is in a single cell, as a form of solitary confinement, is, with respect, disingenuous.
“Thabo Bester gets an opportunity to exercise for an hour every day. That is the minimum time of exercise permitted by Section 11 of the Correctional Services Act.
“The exercise always takes place in the open air unless the weather does not permit.
“During the time allocated for exercising, an inmate has an option to participate in other recreational activities.”
Nxumalo said Bester has been treated according to the Correctional Services Act and the regulations promulgated under the Act.
He said in terms of Section 4(2)(a) of the Act, the department must take steps necessary to ensure the safe custody of every inmate and to maintain security in good order in every Correctional facility.
“Subsection (b) provides that the duties and restrictions imposed on inmates must be applied in such a manner that conforms to that post and should not affect an inmate to a greater degree or for a longer period than necessary.”
Inmates were not entitled to be imprisoned with all the comforts they enjoyed before their incarceration, said Nxumalo.
“A Correctional Centre is not akin to one’s own private residence,” said Nxumalo.
“Therefore, those amenities that a person would ordinarily enjoy outside the correctional centre are not necessarily available in a correctional facility.
“That is an invariable consequence of being imprisoned.”
Bester has requested “an in-person or physical legal consultation” of not less than seven hours on prior arrangements.
He is unhappy with consultation with his legal representatives using a wall steel telephone while separated by glass.
Bester – dubbed the “Facebook rapist” for his previous criminal exploits – also wants to be allowed to use a laptop, tablet, or any other suitable gadget and requests to consult with his legal representatives in a specific office at the centre.
“With respect, there is no merit in Thabo Bester’s requests,” Nxumalo said.
“To be succinct, the request is unreasonable. Thabo Bester’s legal representatives can communicate with him during the consultation and take down the necessary notes.
“A consultation with his legal representatives from 09:00 – 16:00 on a daily basis is neither reasonable nor practical.”
Nxumalo said Kgoši Mampuru houses hundreds of inmates who also need to use the consultation rooms.
Earlier on Wednesday, Bester appeared in the Free State High Court, in Bloemfontein, along with several other suspects – including his partner Dr. Nandipha Magudumana – accused of assisting his prison escape.
The other accused include Zolile Sekeleni, Xando Moyo, Teboho Lipholo, Buti Masukela, Teiho Makhotsa, Senohe Matsoara and James Lipholo.
Judge Cagney Musi also dismissed Bester’s application on the conditions of his imprisonment as “half-baked and unripe”.
Bester had argued that in terms of Section 35 of the Constitution, his rights were being violated.
Unimpressed with the line of argument, Judge Musi questioned how some of Bester’s demands, including how his meals were prepared and access to a laptop, were linked to Section 35.
