Cops did a lousy job: Thabo Bester co-accused Nastassja Jansen after charges withdrawn

A former G4S employee who was let off the hook in Thabo Bester's prison escape case says police did a “lousy job”, resulting in unnecessary arrests.

On Wednesday, the Bloemfontein magistrate's court withdrew charges against Nastassja Jansen, Thabang Matthews Mier and Moeketsi April Ramolula, who were among the 12 accused in the matter.

Jansen was on duty the night rapist and murderer Bester escaped. She was accused of opening the electronic gates Bester was alleged to have slipped out of.

In an interview with the SABC, Jansen reiterated that she had nothing to with the escape.

“I’ve never done anything. I don’t know what happened that night,” she said, detailing the suffering she endured, which included 29 days behind bars.

“People I thought were my friends distanced [themselves] ... It really hurts. If I had done that, I would have taken responsibility.”

Jansen added that her greatest pain involved her eight-year-old daughter, who she said was bullied and shamed. 

“Kids are very cruel at school. Kids come to your child and she’s being bullied at school. At home, as parents, sometimes we say certain things around children and they act on it. That is the main reason I still feel a little bit of anger. Hopefully my child will have a proper childhood and not be bullied for something her mother didn’t do.

“I can’t explain how, but I still believe I was framed.”

Jansen denied knowing Bester. 

“Even he can’t say he knows me, there was no relationship.”

She blamed the police, saying they had not investigated properly.

“What did they actually do? How did they come up [with] just arresting people? Looking back I feel they did a lousy job. They take people’s lives lightly. I don’t think they think of these kinds of things before arresting people unnecessarily. This is my life they have played with.”

Asked whether she would consider suing the state, Janses said she was thinking about it.

Speaking to TimesLIVE Premium on Wednesday, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said the release of the three was part of its strategy.

Meanwhile, a pretrial date has been set for February 2024. 

Those still facing charges are Bester, his lover Nandipha Magudumana, who was arrested with him in Tanzania after they fled the country, Magudumana’s father Zolile Sekeleni, Senohe Matsoara, Teboho Lipholo, Buti Masukela, Tieho Makhotsa, Zanda Moyo and Joel Makhetha.

Magudumana, Bester and Moyo are in custody, while the rest are on bail of R10,000 each.

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