By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
A second G4S prison guard, who is accused of helping convicted rapist and murder Thabo Bester escape from the Mangaung prison, has been arrested by the police in Bloemfontein.
This arrest brings the total to six people who have been arrested in the escape, including Bester and his accomplice, Dr Nandipha Magudumana.
“The 51-year-old man was arrested at the Mangaung Correctional Centre in Bloemfontein,” said police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe.
The suspect is expected to appear before the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, on a charge of assisting an inmate to escape from lawful custody and defeating the ends of justice.
Bester, who was serving a life sentence after he was convicted for rape and murder, is alleged to have faked his own death while in custody as part of his elaborate escape last May.
He was assisted by employees at the prison and his accomplice, Magudumana.
The prison escapee and Magudumana were arrested in Tanzania after an extensive manhunt.
He made his first court appearance on 14 April, while Magudumana joined three others in the dock on 17 April after making a brief court appearance on the day they landed back on South African soil.
Senohe Motsoara, a former G4S employee and James Lipholo who has been linked to the CCTV tampering on the night Bester escaped are part of the total six arrested.
At the same time, bail was granted to the father of Bester’s alleged accomplice and lover, Magudumana.
Cornelius Sekeleni was granted R10,000 bail.
Magudumana, Lipholo, and Motsoare are expected to return to the Bloemfontein Magistrates Court on 3 and 4 May for bail application, while Bester has been kept at the Kgosi Mampuru C-max correctional facility in Tshwane under 24-hour surveillance.
Meanwhile President of the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) Zizamele Cebekhulu says government inefficiency is to blame for Bester’s escape from prison.
Cebekhulu was speaking during a media roundtable discussion in Pretoria on Wednesday.
The focus of the discussion was the escape of Bester from the Mangaung maximum-security prison, which is operated by private company G4S.
“People are shifting blame. Correctional Services did not oversee the operations of this oversight, but the portfolio committee also have a responsibility of oversight, they are not exempted from this. I would say, the whole government is ineffective and not just individuals, “said Cebekhulu.
“Lower ranking officials at Mangaung informed us that they are not allowed to talk about Bester’s escape and that only top officials could talk about it.”
Cebekhulu said the rehabilitation of prisoners is the government’s responsibility.
“It is the responsibility of the government as per constitutional provision to take custody of prisoners and rehabilitate them.”
“The number of those who have been found guilty or not guilty is the data that determines whether you are fighting crime. The whole system must report on crime, police must says we have arrested so many people, prosecution must say we have prosecuted so many and correctional services must say we have received so many, then this country can say we are fighting crime.”