While Thabo Bester will be back in court on Tuesday in a bid to be moved back to Gauteng, the Department of Correctional Services said his move to KZN was lawful.
Image: Oupa Mokoena / Independent Newspapers
Thabo Bester’s transfer to the eBongweni Supermax Prison in Kokstad in KwaZulu-Natal is lawful as it is done for security reasons, the Department of Correctional Services said in court papers following his application to be moved back to a prison in Gauteng.
Bester’s urgent application to be moved back was struck from the roll last month by the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria. This was after Judge Elizabeth Kubushi found the department was only given one day in which to file their opposing papers. Bester will, however, be back in the urgent court on Tuesday to have his transfer declared unlawful.
This time around the department did submit opposing papers. Acting head of C-Max, Ntsizi Qebengu, had set out in detail why it was necessary to move Bester to KwaZulu-Natal. He also stated that shortly before he was being transported to eBongweni, Bester was told that he was being moved. He was happy with this decision and in fact welcomed it, Qebengu said.
While counsel for Bester earlier told the court that his relocation severely hampered his preparations for his forthcoming criminal trial in Bloemfontein, Qebengu disputed this. He pointed out that many inmates at the Kokstad superprison have counsel who have to travel. Qebengu said Bester’s legal team must simply arrange to see him at the prison in order to consult with him.
Bester’s counsel, lawyer Benjamin Moafrika wa Maila, last month argued that his client’s Constitutional rights have been infringed by his “secret, in the middle of the night” move to Kokstad’s super prison on February 5.
But Qebengu now stated that Bester, after being told about the move shortly before he was transported, even packed his own belongings to take along. Maila, however, said his transfer only came to light after a family member wanted to book a visit with him and was told he was no longer there. Qebengu meanwhile maintained that everything was done according to the book. He said shortly after his relocation, Bester was told about the reasons and his family were informed.
In explaining the reason for Bester’s transfer to KZN, Qebengu pointed to the allegations pertaining to Bester’s alleged daring escape from the Mangaung Correctional Centre in Bloemfontein in May 2022 and the alleged involvement of some of the G4S officials.
He said Bester was kept in C-Max after he was captured in Tanzania in 2023 until his relocation to eBongweni. He also explained that the Correctional Services Regulations allow the head of a prison to transfer an inmate without notifying the inmate, if this is done for security reasons, which was the case here.
The decision was taken by the National Commissioner on January 23 following threat and risk assessment. The commissioner took into account that he had been kept at C-Max for a long time and there was a risk as he knew his surroundings as well as where to exit or enter the prison.
He was also familiar with the correctional services officers, and he could use this to escape, Qebengu explained. “To mitigate a possible escape, a transfer to a super maximum facility with more heightened security features than C-Max, and where he is not familiar with the surroundings, or staff would mitigate this,” he said.
According to Qebengu, eBongweni is the only suitable facility in the country with more heightened security than C-Max. He added that Bester meets the criteria for admission at eBongweni, as he is a high-risk offender. Other sensitive security considerations for the relocation cannot be disclosed, he said.
Cape Times