Father of dead man used in Thabo Bester's prison escape asks for time and space to grieve

Batho Mpholo, the father of Katlego Bereng whose body was used by “Facebook rapist” and murderer Thabo Bester in an elaborate prison escape plan, has asked the public to give the family time and space to grieve.

Police last week identified the charred body found in cell 35 of the Mangaung Correctional Centre last year, initially thought to be that of Bester.

Bester escaped from the correctional facility after faking his death in a fire that broke out in his cell in May 2022.

Mpholo said the family need time to regroup and deal with matter at hand.

“We highly appreciate the support you have shown us in this tough time. This has been a really draining journey and we need time to regroup and deal with all the matters at hand.

“This means that we will put the media interviews on hold for now,” said Mpholo.

He asked that the public understands and give the family time to grieve and make the necessary arrangements. 

ActionSA said it would help Bereng's family to open a case against G4S and the departments of health and correctional services.

Chairperson for the party in the Free State Patricia Kopane said they wanted to assist the family to get to the bottom of what happened to their son.

According to Bereng's family, they reported him missing to police in May last year, after he disappeared in March. They started their search for him at government mortuaries and it was only after they could not find him that they registered a missing person case with police.

Kopane told TimesLIVE there were protocols for how hospital staff should deal with unidentified patients. “We feel that a lot of people didn't do what they were supposed to do,” she said

“Police say Katlego collapsed in town and he was taken to hospital. We want reports, from the paramedics who treated him at the scene to the doctor who attended him at the emergency unit. How did his body get to Mangaung prison? How did it leave the government mortuary? Who signed off for the body?

“The department of health has regulations guiding the responsibilities of pathology services on the collection or removal of bodies from their premises.”

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