The Department of Correctional Services has dismissed claims of unfair treatment cited by convicted murderer and rapist Thabo Bester following an application he made on Tuesday at the Bloemfontein High Court. Bester’s legal representative was seeking leave for the convicted rapist’s imprisonment conditions to be relaxed.

INMATES ARE TREATED EQUALLY

Bester’s legal representative, Advocate Lerato Moela, told the court earlier today that the current conditions at C-Max prevent Bester from defending himself adequately and strip him of his dignity. Judge Cagney Musi refused to make the ruling in the matter and said it was half-baked. DCS spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said Bester is not treated differently from the other inmates. "The DCS derives its legal mandate from the Correctional Services Act, Act 111 of 1998, which stipulates that inmates must be treated equally and that their rights, as enshrined in the Constitution, are respected." Nxumalo added that there is no practice of solitary confinement in South Africa as suggested by Bester in his application to the High Court.

HE CAN’T BE TRUSTED

Nxumalo referred back to Bester’s escape from Mangaung prison in May 2022 and said the escape was elaborately planned and well executed. "On 3 June 2024, during his pre-trial conference, Bester requested to address the court following the withdrawal of his then legal representatives from record. In that address, Bester essentially admitted that he had escaped from custody. He went on to tell the court about other details pertaining to the case. This was also live on television, "said Nxumalo. He said there is no doubt that they are dealing with an inmate capable of engineering elaborate means to escape from lawful custody. "Hence, we are duty-bound to employ strict security measures within the confines of the law in order to prevent any chance of him escaping once again. Apart from these security measures aimed at preventing an escape, the department has, since Bester’s admission at the Kgosi Mampuru II Correctional Facility, treated him in the same manner that it treats other inmates at the said facility," Nxumalo added.

According to Nxumalo, DCS recognises that imprisonment does not strip an individual of all the rights and entitlements they would ordinarily have.