By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola has appointed a special task team made up of Gauteng and Free State police and crime intelligence to investigate the prison escape of convicted murderer and rapist Thabo Bester.
Masemola said they are also probing who the person found burnt in Bester’s cell was. “We have registered two cases, one of the escape and the other one murder of the person found badly burnt in Bester’s cell.
Department of Correctional Services (DCS) has confirmed a post-mortem report has revealed that the body does not match the DNA of a woman identified to be Bester’s biological mother.
Bester was convicted of murder and rape after it found that he lured women through Facebook, promising them successful modelling careers.
Dr Nandipha Magudumana ‘s brother, Nkosinathi Sekeleni blew the whistle on Bester, and exposed Bester’s relationship with celebrity doctor as the country learnt recently that the convicted rapist and murderer is still alive.
Masemola also said he had “ordered the prioritisation of investigations into the Mangaung prison escape case, and this is done in the best interest of justice for the victims, survivors, and the affected families.
“Detectives from the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences and the organised crime investigations units in the Free State and Gauteng provinces have been working together around the clock on this investigation.”
Masemola pleaded for patience “and that detectives be allowed the space to conduct a thorough investigation, towards building a watertight case that can ultimately stand in court”.
Meanwhile the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) says a Department of Correctional Services probe needs to be reopened into the officials who were on duty when Bester escaped from prison.
Popcru’s Richard Mamabolo says an internal investigation into the fire was closed after a security supervisor was dismissed on charges of negligence and three officials from the Emergency Security Team suspended.
“The people were not checked for the escape they were checked for negligence. It then brings us to the question of how the body of the person who was found in the cell in the first place and how Bester then left. That means there was some form of an organised syndicate to get him out and arrange a body to resemble him.”
Mamabolo says officials working at the maximum-security facility need to be questioned again.
“For maximum prison, it’s a huge task to convene we think the department tried to sweep the matter under the carpet and we think there should be an investigation into the senior people running that prison.”