The Facebook rapist and murderer escaped four years ago and was caught in Tanzania with his girlfriend, disgraced Nandipha Magudumana. The judgment has raised fresh questions about the legality of the department’s response to one of South Africa’s most embarrassing prison escapes.

While the ruling marks a legal victory for the company operating the prison, it is not expected to derail the department of correctional services’ plans to assume full control of the facility when the current concession agreement expires at the end of June.

As correctional authorities prepare for the long-planned transition on 1 July, parliament’s portfolio committee on correctional services says it remains committed to supporting the takeover while seeking clarity from the department on the implications of the court’s findings and the repayment of more than R1.7m to the prison operator.

“As the portfolio committee, we have consistently supported the department’s plans to take over Mangaung Correctional Centre on 1 July,” said portfolio committee on correctional services chairperson Kgomotso Ramolobeng. “Our focus remains on ensuring the facility is fully prepared to operate under state management.

“While the court judgment introduces a new dimension to the matter, it does not affect the expiry of the concession contract on 30 June. We still expect the department to assume responsibility for the facility as planned.

“The committee welcomes the judgment and looks forward to receiving a comprehensive briefing from the department, particularly on issues relating to the repayment of funds and the legal findings concerning the temporary takeover of the facility.”

GroundUp reports acting judge DM Hinrichsen found the national commissioner of correctional services improperly invoked Section 112 of the Correctional Services Act in March 2023, nearly ten months after Bester escaped from the privately operated maximum-security prison in Bloemfontein.

The court also ordered the minister of correctional services and the national commissioner to repay at least R1.7m to Bloemfontein Correctional Contracts , (BCC) the consortium responsible for the facility. 

The prison operates under a public-private partnership between the state and BCC, with BCC contracting G4S correctional services to manage the facility. Bester allegedly escaped in May 2022 after bribing officials to help fake his death.

A deceased body was smuggled into his cell and set alight, leading prison authorities to report his death as a suicide initially. DNA testing later confirmed the body was not Bester’s. He and Magudumana were eventually arrested in Tanzania in April 2023. 

OFM News/Zenande Mpame dg

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