One of the five people accused of assisting Thabo Bester in his brazen escape from prison pretended to extinguish the fire in cell 35, supposedly occupied by Bester.
On Friday, the Bloemfontein magistrate’s court heard Senohe Matsoara was on the phone the entire time while the cell was on fire, but made other officials on duty in the early hours of that morning believe he was extinguishing the blaze.
This came out during the testimony of a state witness during the bail hearing of five former G4S employees — Matsoara, Teboho Lipholo, Buti Masukela, Tieho Frans Makhotsa and Natassja Jansen.
The witness cannot be identified in terms of a court order but is part of a team investigating Bester’s escape.
The officer told the court that around midnight there was an indication of smoke in the section of the prison called Broadway. Matsoara had stationed himself at the section and was on duty with a junior official. The section has two levels, and Matsoara and the junior official went to inspect the smoke.
According to the officer, Matsoara went straight to the first floor, where cell 35 was located and the other official went to inspect the ground floor.
“Matsoara then informed his colleague there was no smoke. He also told him about an inmate who had been complaining of being short of breath. He instructed the official, to attend to that inmate and he was then left alone in Broadway.
“When the official reached the cell of that inmate, he had to wait for a supervisor to open for him, as per the protocol at that prison. He said the officer tried to call Matsoara but he was not responding on the two-way radio.”
According to the police officer, the official waited for hours, struggling to get hold of Matsoara.
Then just after 3am an alarm was raised that cell 35 was on fire. During that time, Matsoara is said to have made others believe he was extinguishing the fire but that was not the case. The fire was finally put out and a body believed to be that of Bester was found in the cell and it was believed he had committed suicide.
Earlier, the court heard that Lipholo had earlier disabled the CCTV cameras in the Broadway section.
The court also heard that the body of Katlego Bereng which was used as a decoy in Bester's escape, was kept for five days in a section of the prison called the dark room.
The police officer told the court the body was claimed by Dr Nandipha Magudumana from National Hospital in Bloemfontein. Magudumana had told officials she was assisting the family of the deceased person with funeral arrangements.
According to the testimony of the police officer, the body was brought in by Matsoara, using a vehicle hired by Magudumana’s father, Zolile Sekeleni. The vehicle was hired at OR Tambo international airport on April 27 and arrived in Bloemfontein [driven by Sekeleni] on April 29, when the body was claimed by Magudumana and driven to Mangaung Correctional Centre by Matsoara.
“The body was hidden in a bag, which was put under the TV stand that Matsoara drove in with,” the officer said.
He also told the court Matsoara had gained entry to the prison using an entrance where he would usually have needed to have a pass.
The vehicle was also supposed to be searched.
On the day he smuggled the body in, Matsoara was off duty, according to the investigating officer's testimony.
The body was kept overnight in the workshop section of the prison. It was then moved the next day by Lipholo to the dark room. He used a trolley bin to move the body as he was pretending to clean the prison yard. The body was then kept in the dark room, in the Broadway section where single cells are located.
The officer told the court Bester left the prison, dressed in a G4S uniform and walked out with Lipholo and Matsoara. He said Jansen and Makhotsa were on duty that night as CCR controllers responsible for electronically opening certain doors at the prison.
The bail hearing was postponed until Tuesday for further evidence and cross-examination of the officer.
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Court hears how Bester escape accused pretended to extinguish fire in his cell
Image: Thapelo Morebudi
One of the five people accused of assisting Thabo Bester in his brazen escape from prison pretended to extinguish the fire in cell 35, supposedly occupied by Bester.
On Friday, the Bloemfontein magistrate’s court heard Senohe Matsoara was on the phone the entire time while the cell was on fire, but made other officials on duty in the early hours of that morning believe he was extinguishing the blaze.
This came out during the testimony of a state witness during the bail hearing of five former G4S employees — Matsoara, Teboho Lipholo, Buti Masukela, Tieho Frans Makhotsa and Natassja Jansen.
The witness cannot be identified in terms of a court order but is part of a team investigating Bester’s escape.
The officer told the court that around midnight there was an indication of smoke in the section of the prison called Broadway. Matsoara had stationed himself at the section and was on duty with a junior official. The section has two levels, and Matsoara and the junior official went to inspect the smoke.
According to the officer, Matsoara went straight to the first floor, where cell 35 was located and the other official went to inspect the ground floor.
“Matsoara then informed his colleague there was no smoke. He also told him about an inmate who had been complaining of being short of breath. He instructed the official, to attend to that inmate and he was then left alone in Broadway.
“When the official reached the cell of that inmate, he had to wait for a supervisor to open for him, as per the protocol at that prison. He said the officer tried to call Matsoara but he was not responding on the two-way radio.”
According to the police officer, the official waited for hours, struggling to get hold of Matsoara.
Then just after 3am an alarm was raised that cell 35 was on fire. During that time, Matsoara is said to have made others believe he was extinguishing the fire but that was not the case. The fire was finally put out and a body believed to be that of Bester was found in the cell and it was believed he had committed suicide.
Earlier, the court heard that Lipholo had earlier disabled the CCTV cameras in the Broadway section.
The court also heard that the body of Katlego Bereng which was used as a decoy in Bester's escape, was kept for five days in a section of the prison called the dark room.
The police officer told the court the body was claimed by Dr Nandipha Magudumana from National Hospital in Bloemfontein. Magudumana had told officials she was assisting the family of the deceased person with funeral arrangements.
According to the testimony of the police officer, the body was brought in by Matsoara, using a vehicle hired by Magudumana’s father, Zolile Sekeleni. The vehicle was hired at OR Tambo international airport on April 27 and arrived in Bloemfontein [driven by Sekeleni] on April 29, when the body was claimed by Magudumana and driven to Mangaung Correctional Centre by Matsoara.
“The body was hidden in a bag, which was put under the TV stand that Matsoara drove in with,” the officer said.
He also told the court Matsoara had gained entry to the prison using an entrance where he would usually have needed to have a pass.
The vehicle was also supposed to be searched.
On the day he smuggled the body in, Matsoara was off duty, according to the investigating officer's testimony.
The body was kept overnight in the workshop section of the prison. It was then moved the next day by Lipholo to the dark room. He used a trolley bin to move the body as he was pretending to clean the prison yard. The body was then kept in the dark room, in the Broadway section where single cells are located.
The officer told the court Bester left the prison, dressed in a G4S uniform and walked out with Lipholo and Matsoara. He said Jansen and Makhotsa were on duty that night as CCR controllers responsible for electronically opening certain doors at the prison.
The bail hearing was postponed until Tuesday for further evidence and cross-examination of the officer.
TimesLIVE
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READ MORE:
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