Deputy Justice Minister Nel vows SA won't experience repeat of incident similar to Thabo Bester escape
Speaking at the launch of Human Rights Month in Soweto on Friday, Nel emphasised the department’s commitment to strengthening the criminal justice system.
Convicted killer and rapist Thabo Bester in the Bloemfontein High Court on 24 July 2024. Picture: Katlego Jiyane/Eyewitness News
JOHANNESBURG - Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Department, Andries Nel has vowed to make sure the country never experiences an incident similar to that of convicted murderer, Thabo Bester.
The effectiveness of the criminal justice system was called into question following Bester’s 2022 undetected escape.
Bester, who has been dubbed 'the Facebook rapist', was rearrested a year after news organisation, GroundUp, exposed his brazen escape.
Speaking at the launch of Human Rights Month in Soweto on Friday, Nel emphasised the department’s commitment to strengthening the criminal justice system.
“When someone can come into the criminal justice system unknown, go through that whole system up to the point of being in correctional services and we still don’t know who that person is. That just can’t be.”