Parliament’s portfolio committee on Correctional Services met on Tuesday to discuss how to deal with previous inquiries into Thabo Bester’s prison break. File photo: Ashraf Hendricks

• The Corrective Services portfolio committee still has questions about Thabo Bester’s prison break.
• On Tuesday, the commission discussed findings from the Public Protector’s report, released last month, which identified significant delays by the Department of Correctional Services in handling the escape.
• Committee chairwoman Anthea Ramolobeng said the Department should present its remedial plan to the committee before submitting it to the Public Protector.

More than a year after Parliament’s portfolio committee on justice and correctional services launched an inquiry into Thabo Bester’s prison break, MPs are still waiting for answers.

On Tuesday, the committee met to discuss the findings of a Public Protector report in Bester’s run. Many MPs have raised concerns about implementing the recommendations made by the Public Protector before completing its own oversight process.

Better escaped from the Mangaung Correctional Center in Bloemfontein – a privately run maximum security prison – in May 2022, faking his death in a cell fire with the help of renowned Dr. Nandipha Magudumana and several prison officials. He and Magudumana were arrested in April 2023 and are pending trial.

A few days after the arrest of the duo, the committee organized a for two days hearing in Bester’s run that was televised. The hearing was attended by ministers, senior police and prisons officials, representatives of Integritron Integrated Solutions and multinational security company G4S, which runs Mangaung Prison.

Janho Engelbrecht (DA) said the commission’s investigation into Bester’s escape had not been completed. “There is a public expectation that the parliamentary process that we started in the previous term will be completed.” He said the ongoing case between the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) and G4S over control of Mangaung Prison “does not prevent us from pursuing the matter”.

Committee chairwoman Anthea Ramolobeng (ANC) told MPs that although the hearing took place over two days, there was “so much to absorb” and “too much information”. She noted that some departments require outstanding information.

Meanwhile, the Public Protector found that it was “unjustified delay” in how the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) handled the escape. Remedial measures included giving the National Correctional Services Commissioner 90 days to create an Escape Prevention Strategy and Guidelines for Mangaung Prison and establish guidelines for dealing with reports of corruption within 120 days.

Mogodu Moela (ANC) said: “We have to make sure we play our part to ensure that the remedial action (of the public protector) is implemented because there are legal consequences if we fail to exercise oversight.”

He also pointed out the financial implications of prolonging an investigation. “The remedial action is clear about what needs to happen. We need to close the matter so that we don’t cause a lot of expense to the point where we’re thinking about extending it and bringing in fees and other things that will delay the process and cost us money that we don’t have.” he said.

Kabelo Kgobisa-Ngcaba (DA) suggested that Parliament’s researchers review previous findings and ensure that any outstanding issues are included in the committee’s current work. “Ultimately, our goal is to make sure nothing like this happens again and that those involved are held accountable,” she added.

Ramolobeng assured MPs that he would ask Parliament’s investigative team to collect the outstanding reports of previous investigations into Bester’s escape. Ramolobeng suggested that the department first report to the committee before submitting its final report to the Public Protector.

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