The re-arrest of fugitive Thabo Bester and his partner, Dr Nandipha Magudumana, in Tanzania has been welcomed by the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru).
Also read: Bester and Dr. Nandipha arrested in Tanzania after weeks on the run
After a few days of monitoring the suspects, last week, South African Crime Intelligence officers allegedly tracked Bester before the arrest.
The pair, as well as a Mozambican national allegedly assisting them, were arrested in Arusha and are believed to have been on their way to Kenya at the time.
Popcru spokesperson Richard Mamabolo said that even though the arrests were welcomed, it was an ’embarrassment’ that they were not arrested in the country.
‘We welcome the news of the re-arrest of Thabo Bester, and now that the big embarrassment of not having apprehended him while still in the country is over, it is important that intense investigations are conducted so that we establish facts around this orchestrated escape,’ Mamabolo added.
He added that security company G4S, which is in charge of Mangaung Correctional Centre, where Bester had been incarcerated, had been insistent in the past week that Bester had died in his cell.
This came even after the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) publicly stated that he had escaped and was still alive.
‘This is unacceptable. When entering into a public-private partnerships (PPP) contract, the DCS was supposed to play a monitoring role, which they clearly dismally failed on. It is clear that G4S was a law unto themselves.’
‘This PPP contract should be discontinued with immediate effect, and all those responsible must be held accountable,’ Mamabolo stressed.
At a media briefing in Pretoria on Saturday, Police Minister Bheki Cele stated that Bester and Magudumana were found in possession of multiple passports.
‘None of the passports were stamped,’ said Cele who confirmed that Bester and his accomplices were arrested 10 kilometres from the Kenyan border.
‘It looks like they were heading to another country,’ Cele added.
Justice minister Ronald Lamola confirmed that Bester has ‘already been tried, convicted and escaped from a South African prison’, adding that they would await feedback from Tanzanian authorities on the return of Magudumana. An arrest warrant has been issued against the socialite doctor.
He referred to the matter as a ‘clear case of deportation’ as Bester is a convicted criminal who escaped from prison.
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Picture: llustrated by Lisa Nelson