Thabo Bester: G4S Questions Exclusion From Parliamentary Briefing on Fugitive’s Brazen Prison Break

• Private security company G4S wants in on the Parliamentary briefing on Thabo Bester's escape
• The company believes that its exclusion from the briefing was a deliberate move on government's part
• An executive from the company say that G4S is prohibited from releasing statement and can only share its side in Parliament

CAPE TOWN - The South African Parliament will be briefed on Thabo Bester's brazen escape on Tuesday, 4 April, but G4S will not be present to address the prison break.

The global security company manages the Mangaung Correctional Centre, which Bester escaped from, and has questioned its exclusion from the briefing.

G4S believes exclusion from Parliamentary briefing on Thabo Bester's escape is deliberate

An executive of G4S, who wished to remain anonymous, said the security company believes the exclusion was deliberate.

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G4S is legally prohibited from issuing public statements on Bester's prison break or how it cooperates with the subsequent investigations. The Parliamentary briefing is the only way the security company can tell its side of the story.

The G4S executive said:

"It's clear certain people do not want a lot of information to be aired in a way which would ensure the company does not violate any laws."

The company wrote to Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services to request a formal invitation to the briefing.

How did Thabo Bester escape Mangaung Correctional Centre?

Bester escaped on 3 May 2022 when he faked his own suicide by fire.

According to TimesLIVE, the escape was a well-oiled operation in which the body of an unknown man was smuggled into the prison.

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The body was allegedly kept in the kitchen fridges for two days before being transferred to Bester's cell, where it was set alight.

Bester allegedly walked out of the correctional facility dressed as a warder, SowetanLIVE reported.

South Africans are divided by G4S's desire to attend the Parliamentary briefing

Below are some comments:

@mogomepath asked:

"Are they still maintaining their earlier position that Thabo Bester is dead?"

@Cameronmomoo said:

"Terminate their contract with immediate effect, why allow them to appear before Parliament Portfolio Committee?"

@Bottomtop15 speculated:

"Well, this should be interesting. I wonder if it'll be allowed or if the government will say no to protect their ministers who might be complicit in this."

@gavinkinnear1 claimed:

"That's because he did not escape, he died in prison."

@sirboring_26 commented:

"This company definitely gonna throw the Department of Correctional Services under the police bus."

@MarumoMashigo

"In my opinion, they must be allowed to go account, and after that, the contract must be terminated."

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Video of Thabo Bester talking about his crimes gives SA chills, clip gets 1.1 million views on TikTok

Briefly News previously reported that shortly after Thabo Bester was arrested in 2011 for sexual offences and murder, he was interviewed by a criminal psychologist, Dr Gerard Labuchagne.

The con man, who lured women on Facebook, can be seen in a viral video calmly confessing his crimes.

Bester said he had no intentions of killing his girlfriend Nomfundo Tyhulu and that they got into a fight that spiralled out of control, leading to him accidentally stabbing her.

Source: Briefly News