Cape Town - MPs have accused security company G4S of looking for technical loopholes following its failure to appear before the justice and correctional services portfolio committee to account for the escape of ‘Facebook rapist’ Thabo Bester from the Mangaung Correctional Centre last year.
G4S will now be hauled before the committee after it snubbed Tuesday’s meeting where the committee was to be briefed by G4S, SAPS and the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) about the circumstances leading to Bester’s prison escape.
Outraged MPs deemed G4S as being in contempt and disrespecting the committee.
“The resolution of the committee is that G4S will be summoned to appear on a date to be agreed upon between ourselves and the Speaker of the National Assembly and the date will not be as determined by G4S.
“The date should be quite soon because we want to conclude the matter as soon as possible,” committee chairperson Bulelani Mgwanishe said.
MPs heard that G4S notified the committee only on Monday afternoon about its non-attendance and stated its wish to be summoned despite being invited via DCS last week.
In their letter, G4S regional commercial director for Africa Cobus Groenewoud said they would welcome the opportunity to attend a formal meeting under parliamentary privilege with the committee.
Groenewoud said the company was bound by statutory confidentiality obligations and contractual confidentiality obligations and would need to be afforded the same protections which ordinarily would apply to those attending parliamentary meetings.
“G4SCS SA therefore respectfully requests that the committee summons G4S, in particular the author of this letter and Messrs Joseph and Gert Beyleveld, to attend a portfolio committee after the Easter recess in order to allow G4S sufficient time to prepare,” he wrote.
Advocate Ben Winks, representing G4S, said the company had not meant any disrespect to the committee as it did not directly receive the invitation and that it was not aware that any presentation was required from it.
Winks also said the Correctional Services Act contained statutory confidential obligations and there were contractual confidentiality obligations to DCS and employees concerned.
“It is only by virtue of Section 22 of the Parliament Privileges and Immunities Act that a witness can be immunised from its liability for breach of contract or any other kind of liability in response to summons.
“G4S requested to be summoned so that it can make appropriate witnesses and documents available as quickly as possible but it will need to have summons in order to be released from statutory and contractual confidentiality restraints,” he said.
The MPs accused the company of having something to hide. It had maintained there was no escape despite the DCS confirming that Bester had managed to flee, which led to the suspension and dismissal of some officials over the escape.
The Sunday Independent reported that Bester skipped the country to Zimbabwe to lie low after escaping from the Mangaung maximum security prison where he allegedly paid R5 million to at least nine prison warders who helped him escape.
Bester was serving a life sentence for the murder of Johannesburg model and car saleswoman Nomfundo Tyhulu.
DA MP Glynnis Breytenbach said the victims of Bester were without protection and were never informed that he had escaped. “They are left defenceless again. These are not victims of flimsy crime. These are victims of rape,” she said. “It is incomparable to call the accused last in a criminal case and give him all the opportunity to hear all the evidence against him so that he can fabricate answers and defence before he can give evidence.
“It is important that we start with G4S and then walk down the chain,” she said.
African Christian Democratic Party chief whip Swart said: “If they (G4S) want some privileges in terms of the Privileges Act, let it be so but as I said we are going to get to the bottom of this and they are going to respond to our questions no matter what.”
ANC MP Nomathemba Maseko Jele also said as much as G4S has rights and wanted to be summoned, the rights of Bester’s victims weighed more.
“Allowing departments to make their own presentations at the moment is too early... They (G4S) must be first to tell us what happened,” she said.
EFF MP Vusi Khoza said it was concerning that G4S wrote that it was not attending because it wanted immunity, only for it to send lawyers to listen to the proceedings of the meeting.
“Why would you say ‘I want immunity, I need immunity from responsibility’ when you know you have done nothing wrong?
“You would have come here and put the cards on the table and explain yourself,” Khoza said.
Magwanishe said it was unfortunate that when people had to account, they looked for technical loopholes and legal routes.
“It is quite clear that instead of coming with information, G4S is looking for all legal routes possible.
The resolution is that we can’t proceed without them and the Speaker will be contacted to issue summons and we will communicate with all the stakeholders,” Magwanishe said.
Cape Times
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