G4S blow-by-blow account of what happened when Facebook rapist ...
Private security company G4S has given Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services a blow-by-blow account of what happened the day convicted murderer and rapist Thabo Bester escaped from his cell at the Mangaung Correctional Centre (MCC).
The company managed the centre, a maximum prison where Bester served his sentence until he was believed to have died in a fire that broke out in his cell in May last year.
He was recently arrested in Tanzania with celebrity doctor Nandipha Magudumana.
Joseph Monyante, who is the prison's centre director, gave the committee a summary of the events that occurred before, on the day of, and in the days after the fire broke out in Bester's cell.
This is the account he provided:
30 April 2022:
Bester applies to be transferred to a single cell in the Broadway section for his own safety. This was approved by the DCS (Department of Correctional Services) controller, and he was put in vacant Cell 35.
2 May 2022:
19:30 – After the day's final roll call (there are four per day) , all cells are locked for the night, including Bester's, which is standard operating procedure.
19:30 – The security systems technician confirms that the security system is operational and two central control room officers are on nightshift duty to monitor camera footage, open doors and manage the security system.
3 May 2022
04:00 – A fire is discovered in Cell 35 and extinguished by trained prison personnel. The cell is then cordoned off. Prison management and DCS management are called.
04:26 – A nurse from Faranani Life arrives.
04:57 – A DCS controller arrives.
05:01 – The prison's operations director arrives.
05:10 – A doctor from Faranani Life arrives, examines the body and certifies Bester dead.
06:00 – The DCS area commissioner and MCC duty director arrive.
06:55 – The SA Police Service (SAPS) arrives.
10:30 – The police's forensics team arrives. SAPS completes its examination and takes photographs. The forensics team removes the body and takes it to the state mortuary for a post-mortem examination. The SAPS completes its examination and hands the cell over to Mangaung correctional services officials.
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The MCC retrieves Bester's alleged possessions.
Among the possessions are an authorised laptop and an unauthorised cellphone.
19:30 – After the final roll call, all inmates are accounted for.
4 May 2022
The notice of death for Bester is certified by a forensic pathologist from the Department of Health.
The MCC's administration staff raise concerns about a smell of petrol emanating from Bester's alleged possessions.
The prison's operations director calls the police to report the smell.
5 May 2022
Based on the MCC's concerns, the police return to the prison to inspect Bester's alleged possessions.
6 May 2022
The Department of Home Affairs issues a death certificate for Bester.
8 May 2022
SAPS forensics returns to the MCC to collect all belongings recovered from Cell 35, including the laptop and cellphone.
