G4S Correction Services South Africa, the private contractor running the Mangaung prison in which Thabo Bester escaped from in May 2022, says it raised concerns around the circumstances of the fire with the police two days after the Facebook rapist fled from the Free State facility.
In a statement to IOL, G4S said it also supplied police with relevant information and evidence, and fired three employees for matters relating to their conduct on May 3, 2022.
The Department of Correctional Services conceded at the weekend that Bester had escaped from prison after an autopsy confirmed the person who died in the cell fire was indeed not Bester.
A G4S spokesperson said on Tuesday: “On May 3, 2022, G4S Correction Services notified the DCS and the SAPS of a fire at Mangaung Correctional Centre and the tragic death of a prisoner..
“On May 5, following an initial investigation, G4S alerted SAPS to a number of concerns surrounding the circumstances of the fire. SAPS were supplied with relevant information and evidence,” a spokesperson for G4S said.
Three employees at the Mangaung Correctional Centre were suspended shortly after the incident.
“These employees were subsequently dismissed in September 2022, December 2022 and January 2023, respectively, for matters relating to their conduct on the evening of May 3, 2022," G4S said.
Last year, the DCS said Bester committed suicide by setting himself alight in his cell. Following a series of articles on Bester’s life both before and after his escape, the DCS conceded that Bester escaped from lawful custody in May last year.
The DCS has since revealed that the body that was burnt in Cell 35 at the Mangaung Correctional Centre was not Bester. The deceased died of blunt force trauma and not smoke inhalation.
Police have since opened a case of murder and are investigating further, while they search for Bester.
IOL