Cape Town - While efforts to catch fugitive Thabo “Facebook rapist” Bester continue, the director of Mangaung Correctional Centre from which he escaped has been fired with immediate effect and a temporary manager appointed in his place.
This comes after the “embarrassing incident” of Bester pulling off an elaborate prison escape, allegedly with the help of officials.
Patrick Ali Mashabathakga was appointed as the temporary manager of Mangaung Correctional Facility with immediate effect after the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) invoked Section 112 of the Correctional Services Act, read with clause 55 of the concession contract.
Criminologist Simon Howell said the incident “could have been avoided”.
“It is clearly an acknowledgement and necessary step that needs to be taken in beginning to reinstate some sort of control and oversight of this corrections facility. Clearly things had broken down, not through no leadership, but the wrong type of leadership, and as a first step this is something positive.
If people are smuggling bodies into a correctional facility, that smacks of just how far things have gone. Smuggling a body is a significant breach of security in many ways. All of this could have been prevented simply by following standard operating procedures.
Ultimately, if they counted the prisoners properly and did the necessary checks and balances then this would not have been as easy to pull off as it was. This is ultimately a step in the right direction,” said Howell.
In a statement by DCS, it said failures by the contractor did not exonerate the officials in its employ tasked to oversee and monitor operations, which ought to be in line with the Correctional Services Act and concession contract.
“This is a necessary remedy following this embarrassing incident which has undermined the authority of the state. The findings of the report point to the fact that the director of Mangaung Correctional Centre has lost effective control of the facility, among other factors, and the Correctional Services Act does provide for a mechanism to restore safety and security by taking control of the correctional centre by means of appointing a temporary manager.
This will mean that this temporary manager will perform the functions of the director.
“It is necessary that an intervention of this nature be undertaken due to a number of security breaches and other disturbing practices identified by the investigation report on Thabo Bester. When compounded with the post-mortem and DNA sequencing results, it becomes vividly clear that as Correctional Services, we are dealing with a well calculated and organised escape debacle,” a DCS statement read.
Further, the department said findings made through the investigation report pointed out that Bester was helped to escape from lawful custody on May 3, but the contractor maintains that he died in his cell.
“Greatly worrying is the fact that a private vehicle was allowed inside the facility without a gate pass on the day of the escape, possibly carrying an unknown body that was burnt beyond recognition in cell 35. This talks to a facility that has compromised its security system beyond any reasonable doubt.
“Tampering with surveillance cameras points to a failed monitoring system deliberately orchestrated to conceal crucial evidence and individuals who aided Bester to escape. This is also a failure to guarantee the safe custody of inmates,” DCS said.
Cape Times