Escape-prevention plans put in place after Thabo Bester saga

The department of correctional services is ready to take over the Mangaung prison after complying with the remedial actions recommended by the public protector after an investigation into the escape of rapist and murderer Thabo Bester.

This was after the public protector finalised a report in October in which remedial action was called for to establish an “escape prevention strategy” and guidelines for handling reports of corruption.

Deputy minister Lindiwe Ntshalintshali told the portfolio committee on correctional services that the department had complied with the public protector report within 90 calendar days to develop an escape prevention strategy and 120 days to establish an anonymous reporting hotline.

“We have submitted our approved security operations policy, escape prevention strategy and guidelines for managing security incidences, anti-corruption and fraud prevention, and whistle-blowing policy procedure. We have done that and have complied with that. In terms of the due dates, some documents were submitted on December 31 and others were due on January 31.

“As a department, we have complied, and some of the action plans and activities are ongoing because these are things we must continue doing as a department in making sure the policies are fully implemented,” said Ntshalintshali.

The whistle-blowing strategy will treat all tips anonymously but encourage those who use it to provide as much information as possible so that the department can log a complaint and start an investigation.

While an anti-corruption hotline was established to report fraud and corruption among correctional facilities, this now extends to offenders.

However, the department has had instances where offenders were dishonest about the information they reported with hopes that such whistle-blowing would be to their benefit.

“Regarding Thabo Bester, we dealt with a lot of people who claimed they were whistle-blowers. There are [officials] we send out to whistle-blowers to make sure they are safe, and we find out the whistle-blower wants to be transferred and uses information in the media ... We find the offenders are trying to play the system,” said correctional services commissioner Sam Thobakgale. 

The committee was told that some of the common prison escapes happened while offenders were in hospital.

Thobakgale said the movement of inmates to hospital has a security plan and offenders were not left unattended.

“Even if it's overnight we deploy security, which comes at a cost. We need to have security-trained personnel at the hospital who should be there with the support of vehicles and any other necessary support. We have senior members who are on duty at night to do visits. Even if we have security at hospitals, we have seniors to check on them to ensure they are doing their work. Whether there is movement to agricultural areas, or internal clinics, psychologists and social workers inside the correctional facilities, there is an official who accompanies that offender,” he said.

Meanwhile the privately owned Mangaung prison, from which Bester escaped, was under new management until the contract with the company G4S expires.

This after the department gave written warnings and moved two prison officials after the public protector investigation found that they had unduly delayed by six months in reporting Bester's elaborate escape.

The Mangaung contract with G4S is expected to expire on June 30 2026 and that of Kutama-Sinthumele prison in Limpopo, run by GEO Group, on February 15 2027.

“We presented the takeover plans and the teams are ready and have given assurance ... if the court were to sit today and recommended that we take over Mangaung tomorrow, we can do that. We are ready. We took up the issue of employees to ensure they don’t lose their jobs and this is a matter between the department and the employee representatives,” Thobakgale said.

He said once the contract ends with the private companies, they will not be extended as mentioned in 2021.

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