Julius Malema Says Kgosi Mampuru Prison Isn't Secure, Says Thabo Bester Needs to Be Moved

• EFF leader Julius Malema has criticised the decision to hold Thabo Bester at Kgosi Mampuru Prison
• The Kgosi Mampuru Prison is infamously known as the facility Ananias Mathe escaped from by bribing officials
• South Africans share the same sentiments as Malema and believe Bester should be held at Kokstad prison

JOHANNESBURG - Many South Africans are wondering if Thabo Bester will try to escape from prison again, including Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema.

Bester, a convicted sex offender and murderer, was recaptured in Tanzania just 10km away from the Kenyan border alongside his lover, Dr Nandipha Magudumana, and Zacharia Alberto, a Mozambican national.

Julius Malema says holding Thabo Bester at Kgosi Mampuru prison is a bad idea

Malema took to Twitter to express his feelings about Bester being kept at Kgosi Mampuru II Prison in Pretoria after he was returned to South Africa.

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Correctional Services confirm Thabo Bester was returned to Kgosi Mampuru not Mangaung prison

Like the Mangaung Correctional Service Bester escaped from, Kgosi Mampuru is a maximum security prison. It is also the same prison the late Anania Mathe, a murderer and convicted serial sexual offender, escaped from by bribing prison guards, reports IOL.

Malema stated in his tweet that Bester should have been taken to Kokstad prison because Kgosi Mampuru can't be trusted. The Kokstad facility is known to be quite brutal and strict. So far, there have been no escapes associated with the prison.

Kgosi Mampuru has not seen an escape in 5 years

According to TimesLIVE, the Kgosi Mampuru prison has been able to get its affairs in order in the past five years.

Correctional Services National Commissioner Makgothi Samuel Thobakgale explained that Mathe's escape took place in 2006 before the prison implemented security upgrades.

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However, it seems as though Malema has a reason to be concerned because in 2020, two prisoners, Thabo Zacharia Muyambo and Johannes Chauke, escaped from the C-Max prison, according to SowetanLIVE.

Earlier this year, two inmates, Emmanuel Muchandizwa and Thembani Mudau, tried to escape from the prison but were unsuccessful.

South Africans question why Thabo Bester was taken to Kgosi Mampuru prison

@Sibuzakes said:

"We might see season two of Prison Breaker, it’s possible."

@ThembaENgcobo1 said:

"Kgosi Mampuru prison will be like a holiday for Thabo Bester. He needs to be taken to Ebongweni Prison in Kokstad, KZN. That's the only prison even the notorious Ananias Mathe couldn't escape."

@_Babazile said:

"Malema is right bafethu, trust him on that, Kokstad is much secure than Kgosi Mampuru."

G4S inmate gives detailed insight into Thabo Bester’s escape, Mzansi believes captured fugitive was released

Briefly News previously reported that an anonymous inmate at the G4S-run Mangaung Correctional Centre has detailed how Thabo Bester escaped from the prison.

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Thabo Bester arrives at Bloemfontein Magistrate's Court for 1st appearance since repatriation from Tanzania

The insight has led South Africans to believe that the captured fugitive was released from prison with the help of the prison's officials.

A prisoner who was at the Magaung prison the day Bester escaped said there was a flurry of activity outside Bester's cell the night of the prison break.

Source: Briefly News