The final written warnings were issued to the two officials in the Department of Correctional Services for delaying the report of Thabo Bester’s prison escape.Image: Daily Dispatch
(The Post News)- The Minister of the Department of Correctional Service (DCS), Pieter Groenewald, has confirmed two officials who delayed reporting the prison escape of the murderer and rapist, Thabo Bester have been served with a final written warning.
Roseline Phahlane and Chris Mohonono are accused of taking six months before reporting the matter after being informed of the bogus death and escape in June 2022. The case was opened late in January 2023 by the department.
This followed the report found by the Public Protector (PP), Kholeka Gcaleka, on Monday, 30 September 2024, which states Bester’s elaborate escape from the Mangaung Correctional Centre, which is privately owned by the international security company G4S, in May 2022, was an “undue delay.”
The initial report suggested Bester lost his life when his cell caught fire, and his body burned beyond recognition.
“The final written warnings served to the two officials are about their failure to report the escape on time while the minister firmly asserts G4S bears significant responsibility for the incident,” says the ministry’s spokesperson, Eunè Oelofsen.
According to Groenewald, such behaviour is unacceptable, and to avoid such incidents during his tenure, stricter consequence management would be implemented.
Bester was arrested in 2023, and it is alleged he escaped with assistance from his partner and doctor, Nandipha Magudumana. The two other co-accused, including Magudumana’s father, are awaiting trial.
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