Thabo Bester Escape ‘An Inside Job’: Former Prison Officer Reveals
A former prison official believes that there was someone within Mangaung Prison who helped the Facebook rapist Thabo Bester escape.
He said it could be three people who helped Bester execute his plan, the officer in the camera control room, the officer guarding the cells unit and the delivery supervisor. He said all three were at the top of his list of suspects.
IT WAS AN INSIDE JOB
Tatolo Setlai told SABC that the internal investigation should also focus on officials who would have pulled some strings for a corpse to be brought into the prison premises. “For me if I look at the setup which I know very well. He was helped. There’s no way that a person who was working in that unit could not noticed someone coming in and out of their cell. I want to say that the official who were working night shift should also be held accountable for the escape.” He said bribery must have been involved “Money plays a very important role in prison, otherwise you will struggle and be in a position of vulnerability. When you have money you’re in a position of power and some prison officials will help you get access to a lot of things.” He said Bester did not escape on foot, there was a car waiting for him and that car entered the sally port and that’s where deliveries are dropped off. That section is controlled by the supervisor and no one is granted access unless he gives the go ahead.
SUSPENDED FROM PRACTISING
The Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) says Dr Nandipha Magudumana who is believed to be the partner of rapist and killer Thabo Bester has been suspended from practising as a doctor – and, if she is still practising, it is a criminal offence. Magudumana was due to pay fees which regulate her as a doctor in April 2021 but she did not do so. On its website, the HPCSA said practitioners who did not pay their annual fees would be suspended and erased from the register and would only be reinstated upon paying the outstanding annual fee amount, together with a penalty as outlined in its regulations. HPCSA said they could not immediately prosecute her, however if they discover that she had been practicing without being registered, she will be charged.-Zimoja
