Convicted rapist Thabo Bester and EFF leader, Julius Malema. Images: Twitter/@EFFSouthAfrica and @Abramjee.
‘Blatant incompetence’: EFF weighs in on Thabo Bester’s escape
The Department of Correctional Services confirmed that the burnt body found in Thabo Bester’s cell was of another man.
Convicted rapist Thabo Bester and EFF leader, Julius Malema. Images: Twitter/@EFFSouthAfrica and @Abramjee.
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) says all those employed at the Mangaung Correctional Centre during the period ‘Facebook Rapist’ Thabo Bester was imprisoned and escaped should be questioned.
The sentiment comes as the Department of Correctional Services confirmed that Bester escaped prison in May 2022.
DCS CONFIRMS FACEBOOK RAPIST’S ESCAPE
On Saturday, 25 March, the DCS said it received a report from the Mangaung Correctional Centre – a public-private partnership prison – operated by G4S.
The report said Bester committed suicide by setting himself on fire in his cell at approximately 3:25 on 3 May 2022. He was serving a life and 75 years imprisonment sentence.
ALSO READ: Correctional Services confirms ‘Facebook Rapist’ Thabo Bester’s great escape
An autopsy on the burnt body found in Bester’s cell revealed that the male died of blunt-force trauma to the head.
The autopsy also revealed no signs of smoke inhalation in the body, and the pancreas and spleen were in the early stages of decomposition.
EFF WEIGHS IN ON THABO BESTER’S ESCAPE
The EFF has since called for a massive search by the South African Police Service (SAPS) to track and apprehend Thabo Bester in conjunction with intelligence services.
“Furthermore, all those who were employed at Mangaung Correctional Centre during the period of Bester’s imprisonment and his escape must immediately be brought in for questioning,” the party said.
ALSO READ: Thabo Bester ran a glamorous media company from prison
The Red Berets further said the despicable occurrence must be laid directly at the doorstep of the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, Ronald Lamola. The party said Lamola has failed to ensure order in South African prisons and to uproot corruption which it said is at the centre of Bester’s escape.
Meanwhile, the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (POPCRU) also blamed the Department of Correctional Services for Bester’s spectacular prison escape.
