Government Ordered To Repay R1.7 Million To Company Running Thabo Bester Prison

The Department of Correctional Services has been ordered to repay at least R1.7 million to the company responsible for operating the Mangaung Correctional Centre, the prison from which convicted rapist and murderer Thabo Bester escaped in 2022.

The ruling was handed down by the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, which found that the department unlawfully took control of the privately managed prison in 2023 following mounting public scrutiny over Bester’s escape.

Court Finds Thabo Bester Prison Takeover Was Unlawful

Acting Judge DM Hinrichsen ruled that Correctional Services had no legal basis to invoke Section 112 of the Correctional Services Act nearly 10 months after Bester escaped from the Mangaung Correctional Centre.

The facility operates under a public-private partnership through Bloemfontein Correctional Contracts (BCC), a consortium partly owned by multinational security firm G4S. G4S Correctional Services has managed the prison under contract since 2000.

Bester, who was serving a life sentence, allegedly escaped in May 2022 after bribing prison officials. Authorities believe a deceased body was smuggled into his cell and set alight to stage a suicide, allowing him to leave the facility disguised as a prison official.

Initially, G4S reported the incident as a suicide. Subsequent DNA testing later confirmed that the body discovered in the cell was not Bester.

The Department of Correctional Services only concluded in November 2022 that Bester had escaped. In terms of its contract, G4S was fined R880,000 over the security breach.

Thabo Bester Escape Led To Increased Scrutiny

Questions surrounding Bester’s reported death intensified after media reports challenged the official version of events. Despite growing concerns, several months passed before authorities formally reported the escape to police.

In March 2023, fresh evidence emerged indicating that Bester had fled the prison. Shortly afterwards, on 25 March, the department publicly acknowledged the escape and launched efforts to locate him.

Five days later, National Commissioner Makgothi Pathekile used Section 112 to assume temporary control of the prison. Between March and July 2023, the department deducted R1.72 million from BCC for costs associated with managing the facility.

BCC paid the amount “under protest” before approaching the courts to challenge the decision and seek repayment.

Judge Hinrichsen found that Section 112 is intended for emergency situations where prison management has lost effective control and immediate intervention is required to protect safety and security.

He described the provision as an “extraordinary power … to be invoked sparingly”.

According to the judgment, a memorandum prepared by the National Commissioner for the minister detailed the history of the escape and the subsequent investigation.

“It did not identify a present threat to safety and security,” said the judge.

The court heard that all parties agreed the prison was functioning normally by March 2023 and there was no active security risk at the facility.

Court Questions Motive Behind Thabo Bester Prison Intervention

The court further found there was no evidence that the commissioner properly consulted the minister before implementing the takeover, as required by law.

“He submitted an opinion he had already formed to the minister for a signature. The distinction is not semantic.

“The minister signed the document on the same day. There is no evidence of any deliberation, discussion, modification or back and forth between them.”

Judge Hinrichsen also suggested the decision may have been influenced by factors unrelated to prison security.

“The record also contains several indications that the decision was taken for an ulterior purpose,” Judge Hinrichsen said, referring to the department’s description of Bester’s escape as an “embarrassing incident”.

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“The humiliation of the State caused by the escape is a consideration that cannot be lawfully brought to bear in the exercise of the section 112 power.”

The judgment noted that an internal investigation completed in November 2022 had recommended penalties against G4S but had not proposed invoking Section 112.

“That assessment prevailed for some four months. It was overtaken in March 2023 against the backdrop of intensifying media scrutiny and by a decision in which the department sought to be seen to be acting decisively.”

The judge pointed out that no further escapes had occurred, contractual penalties had already been imposed, and G4S had dismissed nine employees linked to the incident.

“The decision was one that no reasonable decision-maker could have taken on the material before the commissioner,” the judge said.

The court set aside the decision, ordered that all credits paid by BCC be refunded and directed the respondents to cover the legal costs of the case.

The 25-year agreement between BCC and the Department of Correctional Services began on 30 June 2001 and is scheduled to expire at the end of June. A separate legal challenge involving the department’s earlier attempt to terminate the contract remains before the courts.