The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) has hit back at allegations by convict and alleged prison escape artist Thabo Bester regarding his incarceration at the Kgoši Mampuru II Correctional Facility in Pretoria.

In June this year, Bester told the pre-trial court in his escape case that, amongst other allegations, he was being kept in solitary confinement for 23 hours of the day and was not given adequate time to consult with his lawyers.

The department has dismissed those allegations – insisting that everything surrounding his incarceration has been done by the book.

‘As DCS, it is clear that we 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 Thabo Bester’s admission at Kgoši Mampuru II Correctional Facility, t
reated him in the same manner that it treats other inmates at the said facility,’ DCS said in a statement.

The department was at pains to explain that although imprisonment does not strip individuals of their rights, in the context of imprisonment, some rights ‘are given effect to differently where it is possible, practical and safe to do so, while others inconsistent with imprisonment do not enjoy recognition for instance the right to liberty’.

‘Equally, the department recognises that the conditions of detention of inmates should be consistent with human dignity, including at least an opportunity to exercise and provision of adequate accommodation, nutrition, reading material and the opportunity to access legal advice.

‘That said, inmates are not entitled to be imprisoned with all the comforts they have enjoyed before their incarceration. A Correctional Centre is not akin to one’s own private residence. Therefore, those amenities that a person would ordinarily enjoy outside the Correctional Centre are not
necessarily available in a correctional facility. That is an invariable consequence of being imprisoned,’ the department added.

Solitary confinement and access to legal representation

The DCS pointed out that there is ‘no practice of solitary confinement in South Africa’ and dismissed Bester’s allegations that he was kept in that state as ‘incorrect and fallacious’.

‘C-Max, at Kgoši Mampuru, is a high security facility. It comprises only single cells. Hence, all inmates in the facility do not share a cell. Therefore, the impression created by Thabo Bester that he is in a single cell, as a form of solitary confinement, is, with respect, disingenuous.

‘Thabo Bester gets an opportunity to exercise for an hour every day. That is the minimum time of exercise permitted by Section 11 of the Correctional Services Act. The exercise always takes place in open air, unless the weather does not permit. During the time allocated for exercising, an inmate has an option to participate in other recreational activities.

‘
Thabo Bester and other inmates in C-Max are also afforded a reasonable opportunity to have telephonic contact with and to be visited by their families when such visits are properly arranged with the centre. Equally, Thabo Bester’s assertion that he is segregated is not correct. The facility comprises only single cells,’ the department said.

On the issue of whether Bester is allowed access to legal advice and representation, the DCS said Bester had made ‘hundreds of telephone calls to various lawyers’ for the period 12 October 2023 until 16 July 2024.

‘Thabo Bester is asking for ‘an in-person or physical legal consultations’ of not less than seven hours on prior arrangements and to allow him to use a laptop/tablet or any suitable gadget. He complains about a consultation using [a] wall steel telephone, whilst separated by a glass with his legal representatives, is not meaningful.

‘Thabo Bester suggests that he should be afforded an opportunity to consult with his legal representatives in a specific office
at the centre. With respect, there is no merit in Thabo Bester’s request. To be succinct, the request is unreasonable. Thabo Bester’s legal representatives can communicate with him during the consultation and take down the necessary notes.

‘A consultation with his legal representatives from 09:00 – 16:00 on a daily basis is neither reasonable nor practical. Kgoši Mampuru houses hundreds of inmates who also need to use the consultation rooms. The Regulations allow for consultations on a daily basis from 08:00 until 15:00 in the afternoon. Therefore, if Thabo Bester’s request is acceded to, it will mean that one of the consultation rooms will be occupied by him the whole day,’ the department asserted.

Other allegations

In respect of Bester’s request to access electronic gadgets or equipment and the use of hand and leg cuffs the DCS said:

Thabo Bester’s request for gadgets will pose a security risk to the centre and might enable him to orchestrate another escape.

The use of hand and leg cuffs on Thabo
Bester is justified under section 31 of the Correctional Services Act. Before his incarceration at Kgoši Mampuru, Thabo Bester had escaped from a maximum-security prison. Without a doubt, the department is justified in having an apprehension that Thabo Bester might attempt to escape again.

‘The manner in which Thabo Bester has been treated is consistent with what is prescribed by the Correctional Services Act and the regulations promulgated under the Act. Basically, safe and humane custody of inmates is at the centre of the correctional system.

‘The Act provides that the aim of a correctional system is to contribute to maintaining and protecting a just, peaceful and safe society by enforcing sentences of the courts in a manner prescribed by the Act and detaining all inmates in safe custody whilst ensuring their human dignity,’ the department said.

Source: South African Government News Agency