Johannesburg - The SAPS has confirmed the arrest of another G4S employee in connection with the daring escape of convicted murderer and rapist Thabo Bester.
The 51-year-old security guard employed by G4S is expected to appear before the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.
The male suspect was arrested on Tuesday, April 18, at the Mangaung Correctional Centre in Bloemfontein. Police national spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe confirmed the arrest.
"The suspect is facing a charge of assisting an inmate to escape from lawful custody and defeating the ends of justice," Mathe said.
This brings the total to two G4S employees arrested in connection with Bester’s brazen walk-out of the maximum-security facility. Over a week ago, Senohe Matsoara was arrested and appeared to be facing serious charges.
He will return to court on May 3 and 4 for his bail application alongside Bester’s girlfriend, Dr Nandipha Magudumana.
Magudumana and three other defendants were on Monday remanded until next month.
Magistrate Mohlolo Khabisi postponed the case against Matsoara, Teboho Lipholo (a CCTV technician), and Magudumana for them to apply for bail.
The three are facing charges of assisting an inmate to escape, defeating the ends of justice, fraud, violation of a body, and arson.
The charges relate to an incident that took place at Mangaung Correctional Centre on May 3, 2022, when Bester, who was an inmate at the prison, was said to have burned to death in his cell.
DNA testing was conducted on the body that was burned, and it was found that it was not Bester. The post-mortem report recorded the cause of death as blunt force trauma, and not smoke inhalation.
The fourth accused, Zolile Sekeleni, who is Magudumana’s father, was released on bail of R10 000, and conditions attached to his bail are that he must report at Port Edward police station once a week between 8am and 4pm; he must inform the investigating officer if he wants to leave the jurisdiction of Port Edward; he must not contact State witnesses, directly or indirectly; and he must not interfere with the investigations.
The charge of murder against Sekeleni was also reviewed based on new evidence that was brought to the prosecutor by the investigating team.
He is now facing charges of assisting an inmate to escape and defeating the ends of justice, and fraud. Sekeleni will be back in court on May 16 after his case was postponed for further investigation.
Also on that day, Bester is expected in court over his escape. Bester and Nandipha were arrested in Arusha, Tanzania, after fleeing the country.
This week, the country learned that the Home Affairs Department admitted it had spent a whopping R1.4 million to transport the duo back into the country.
In an interview with one of the broadcasters this week, Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola said an investigation was under way into allegations that Bester was let out of the Mangaung facility to enjoy “luxurious holidays” with Magadumana.
Lamola said he was alerted to allegations that Bester was being let out to go on luxurious holidays to a boutique hotel, just 25km from the facility. He said in an investigative report that it had emerged that Bester had been let out of the facility on different occasions.
"When I visited the facility in late March this year, when our guys took over when we implemented Section 112 and our guys took over the facility, we were able to access a number of people who were able to tell us more," Lamola said.
Meanwhile, DA MP Advocate Glynnis Breytenbach said she has been furnished with documents showing that the allegations could be true, which suggests corruption on a grand scale. | Additional reporting by IOL
The Star