MPs question whether Bester escape was orchestrated

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Members of Parliament have raised questions over whether a plan was orchestrated to assist in the escape of convicted rapist and murderer, Thabo Bester.

The G4S security company, which runs the Mangaung Correctional Facility where Bester escaped, is appearing before Parliament.

Officials initially claimed that Bester, dubbed the ‘Facebook Rapist’, died during a fire in his cell.

However, investigations revealed that the person found in the cell had died from blunt force trauma to the head prior to the blaze.

Bester and his partner, Dr Nandipha Magudumana, were arrested in Tanzania at the weekend, along with a Mozambican national, believed to be an accomplice.

ANC MP, Anthea Ramolobeng, has raised concerns over the CCTV cameras at the facility.

“Was this planned? Because when we got there, cell 35 [where Bester was kept] is not used as it is in the blind spot. You can come into isolation, take the stairs to cell 35 and the camera will not capture you, as it is in the blind spot, even when you go out.”

“Who authorised for him to be put in that blind spot and why was an inmate, that was in there, removed for him to go in? There was an inmate in cell 35, meaning they took that inmate to another cell to put Thabo Bester. So, there was an orchestration of a plan for him to escape,” adds Ramolobeng.

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