The capture of Thabo Bester, his accomplice Dr. Nandipha Magudumana, and a Mozambican National in Tanzania has left the South African government red-faced and a country in despair.
How did they escape the border? Where did they obtain passports? Whose body was found in the cell that Bester was reported to have died in? and the list of questions goes on as the nation ponders on what has been termed a “travesty of justice”.
The latest developments in Thabo Bester’s mysterious escape have not put the nation at ease. Instead, the capture of fugitives Thabo Bester and his accomplice Dr Magudumana has raised a plethora of questions surrounding the loopholes in the criminal justice system and governance in South Africa.
This latest attempt to flee from justice follows a line of high-profile exits from the country to avoid accountability such as the Guptas and the Bushiris who are still at large.
The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) argues that these events are an indication of a failing state. IFP leader, Velenkosini Hlabisa says, ”It’s a disgrace to have a government that is failing in every angle. Can it be law, can it be service delivery issues, can it be dealing with unemployment …really.”
Bester reportedly escaped during a prison fire at the Mangaung Correctional Facility where he was declared dead.
COPE has raised the framing of the Bester debacle as an escape when the party states that it was an actually aided exit out of the correctional facility.
The Congress of the People (COPE) spokesperson, Dennis Bloem says, “We want to reiterate that Thabo Bester did not escape from that prison, he simply walked out of that prison with the assistance of corrupt prison officials. We want to know these corrupt prison officials. They must also be immediately arrested, they are a danger to society.”
The aided escape of Bester was reportedly brought to the attention of Deputy Minister Nkosi Phathekile Holomisa in the form of an email in June 2022, however, when the story dominated headlines months later, Holomisa could not provide a clear answer on the said email.
Phathekile Holomisa says, “I receive a lot of emails, WhatsApp messages, SMSes coming from all types of people – sometimes anonymous, sometimes people identifying themselves. So what I do, I would identify relevant officials, sometimes the National Commissioner himself, sometimes the Chief Deputy Commissioner responsible for that area, and then I leave the matter to them to report back.”
Prompting the question of what exactly would authorities know had the issue not been made public. A briefing by the Security Justice Cluster exposed that many questions remain unanswered. Such as the charges Dr Nandipha Magudumana will face.
Meanwhile, the private company G4S which managed the prison failed to appear before parliament.
The African National Congress (ANC)’s first Deputy Secretary-General, Nomvula Mokonyane states that the debacle is an embarrassment.
“One of the things that are a problem, is it’s a private correctional service institution that has also defied parliament, refusing to appear before parliament. We hope that they will be summoned by the Speaker because this actually undermines the authority of our criminal justice system. It’s been an embarrassment, it’s an indictment and it begs all of us to really make an appeal and say what exactly are we dealing with?”
ANC’s Nomvula Mokonyane:
A team has since been dispatched to Tanzania to bring the pair back to South Africa.
