The intention was to bury this thing: SAPOHR President on Bester escape

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President of the South African Prisoners Organisation for Human Rights (SAPOHR), Golden Miles Bhudu, has accused correctional service officials as well as Deputy Minister Patekile Holomisa of not paying attention to whistle-blowing efforts by his organisation.

Bhudu says SAPOHR members shared information with Holomisa via text shortly after a fire broke out in Facebook rapist and killer Thabo Bester’s cell in May last year.

Bester has since been brought back to South Africa from Tanzania, following his escape on the day of the fire, with the help of accomplice Dr Nandipha Magudumana and others who are now facing a slew of charges in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court.

Bhudu insists that there was a cover up.

“We’ve created a WhatsApp group for the minister and we see that they don’t read some of these texts, these videos we send them. I can remember vividly that we were informed by our members at that particular prison that there was a fire, somebody had committed suicide. The section is under lockdown, there’s a lot of activities and so on. And that information we’ve sent to these people and if they read those WhatsApps and watched those videos, they should’ve acted a long time ago but I can assure you, the intention was to bury this thing.”

VIDEO | Thabo Bester Saga | Analysis of Dr Nandipha court case with Golden Miles Bhudu: