POPCRU calls on DCS to speed up Mangaung Prison's transfer from G4S back to dept
G4s scored a contract to run the prison back in 2000 with the contract expected to end in 2026 - however, Bester's escape put pressure on DCS to end the contract before then.
JOHANNESBURG – The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (POPCRU) has called on the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) to speed up the protracted transfer of Mangaung Correctional Centre from infamous security company, G4S, back to the department's control.
The international security company gained notoriety in May 2022 when convicted rapist and murderer, Thabo Bester, made a brazen prison escape, allegedly with the aid of his girlfriend, disgraced medical doctor Nandipha Magudumana.
G4S scored a contract to run the prison back in 2000, with the contract expected to end in 2026. However, Bester's escape put pressure on DCS to end the contract before then.
Bloemfontein Correctional Contracts (BCC), a holding company in a public-private partnership with the DCS to run the Mangaung prison, argued that the cancellation was flawed and invalid.
The BCC challenged Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola's termination notice at the Pretoria High Court last year, which resulted in a court order directing the department and company to enter into mediation talks to settle their dispute.
POPCRU however, has accused the BCC of benefitting from taxpayers’ money and refusing to let go of the contract despite its inability to manage the facility.
Meanwhile, nearly a year after his audacious escape, Bester and seven others appeared before the Free State High Court on Wednesday.