MPs to consider Public Protector's report on Thabo Bester's prison escape
MPs will on Tuesday be briefed by the parliamentary legal services on how to process the report of the Public Protector.
FILE: Convicted killer and rapist Thabo Bester in the Bloemfontein High Court on 24 July 2024. Picture: Katlego Jiyane/Eyewitness News
CAPE TOWN - Convicted murderer and rapist Thabo Bester's prison escape is back in focus in Parliament on Tuesday as MPs consider the Public Protector's report on the daring escape.
The Public Protector launched an investigation in March last year after receiving a complaint from a member of the public that the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) had failed the public in its handling of Bester's escape from the Mangaung correctional facility.
In her report, Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka concluded that there was "undue delay" in the way the department handled Bester's prison escape.
One of the remedial actions listed by the Public Protector was that the Speaker of the National Assembly must bring the report to the attention of the chairperson of the portfolio committee within 30 days of receiving the report.
Two officials have already faced disciplinary hearings and received final written warnings.
But on Tuesday, MPs will be briefed by the parliamentary legal services on how to process the report of the Public Protector.
The committee could also come up with its own recommendations on what further action must be taken.
Minister of Correctional Services, Pieter Groenewald, in September also took note of the report.
Groenewald said while he acknowledged that the officials were slow to report the escape, he firmly asserts that private prisons contractor, G4S, shouldered significant responsibility for this incident.