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Johannesburg, (News24, Thursday)- Makgothi Thobakgale, the National Correctional Commissioner, said an interim head had been selected to assume responsibility for G4S's Mangaung Correctional Complex (MCC). This came after rapist and murderer Thabo Bester escaped in May 2022. Bester's escape was "highly plotted and organized," according to a DCS investigative report, and a private vehicle entered the institution without an access card on the day of the breakout. Surveillance cameras were also compromised. Three DCS officers have been disciplined, and a search squad is seeking Bester.
Thobakgale is optimistic that Bester will be apprehended and prosecuted. After weeks of turmoil, DCS took over the Mangaung Correctional Complex (MCC) in 2013. G4S regained control in August 2014, with DCS "confident that the difficulties that led to our takeover have been remedied." A criminal culture among prison administration and employees has been exposed in news stories and a documentary, notably concerning the abusive treatment of convicts. G4S Global, based in London, controls a significant portion of G4S Corrective Services (Bloemfontein), which runs the MCC and several other G4S companies in South Africa.
G4S Global was bought by Allied Universal, a security services firm located in the United States, in 2021. Warburg Pincus and the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) purchased Allied Universal in 2019. In 2017, the New York City Public Pension Fund terminated its stake in G4S but later invested in Warburg Pincus. By September 2022, the Norwegian pension fund had committed more than $600 million to Warburg Pincus-managed funds. The Norwegian Central Bank directed the country's public pension funds to withdraw from G4S in 2019, citing an "unacceptable risk that the corporation contributes to or is liable for major systematic human rights violations."
In response to GroundUp's requests, Warburg Pincus declined to comment. The wording on the t-shirt says it all. G4S Global directed our questions about its connection with G4S South Africa to G4S South Africa. Bester's cell was on the second level of the jail, according to a person who worked there at the time of his escape, and there was a door going down to the exit. As a vehicle enters or exits the jail, it must pass via the sally port.
Some cameras check the vehicle's interior, outside, and floor to see if there are any hazards. When the car has been thoroughly inspected, the vehicle data is logged in the book.
SOURCE: News24|Daniel Steyn, James Stent and Marecia Damons
