Thabo Bester, who was serving a term of life in prison, escaped from what police and prisons union Popcru described as one of the country’s “state of the art” prisons. Picture: ANA Archives
Cape Town - The absence of a culture of accountability has turned this country into a lawless society, where no crisis is big enough to warrant the removal or resignation of political figures or government officials.
The dramatic escape of the so-called Facebook rapist, Thabo Bester, from a Mangaung correctional facility, which is privately operated on behalf of the Department of Correctional Services, is the most shocking story to have emerged from this country’s prisons.
Bester, who was serving a term of life in prison, escaped from what police and prisons union Popcru described as one of the country’s “state of the art” prisons.
Apart from being incarcerated for rape and murder, Bester is alleged to have been a conman, running elaborate schemes to defraud women aspiring to be in the modelling industry.
Despite the dramatic revelations, Minister of Correctional Services, Ronald Lamola, the department’s director-general and the head of the private prison are still safe in their jobs.
The absence of a culture of accountability in the government and political environment is going to be our undoing as a country.
The fact that no official, even those who were on shift when Bester escaped, has been suspended is both embarrassing and unacceptable.
Popcru spokesperson Richard Mamabolo captured the essence of society’s shock when he said: “The manner in which the prisoner escaped, it’s clear that it was orchestrated. It’s quite clear that there would have been certain people who were involved in the escape. The fact that you have somebody’s body being burnt beyond recognition means that one person had to be compromised.”
For this country to rebuild public institutions, including state-owned enterprises destroyed through incompetence and corruption, restoring a culture of accountability should be the first priority.
Politicians and government officials should be held accountable for failing to do their jobs. They should not be promoted or moved to other departments to continue their destructive tendencies. In Greece, the minister of transport resigned following a train disaster that killed dozens of people.
Now that’s accountability.
Cape Times