{"id":643,"date":"2024-07-31T18:44:07","date_gmt":"2024-07-31T16:44:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pixleyindependent.co.za\/?p=643"},"modified":"2024-07-31T18:44:07","modified_gmt":"2024-07-31T16:44:07","slug":"dcs-responds-to-thabo-bester-allegations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pixleyindependent.co.za\/?p=643","title":{"rendered":"DCS responds to Thabo Bester allegations"},"content":{"rendered":"

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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 Kgo\u0161i Mampuru II Correctional Facility in Pretoria.<\/p>\n

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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.<\/p>\n

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The department has dismissed those allegations \u2013 insisting that everything surrounding his incarceration has been done by the book.<\/p>\n

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\u201cAs 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.<\/p>\n

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\u201cApart from these security measures aimed at preventing an escape, the department has, since Thabo Bester\u2019s admission at Kgo\u0161i Mampuru II Correctional Facility, treated him in the same manner that it treats other inmates at the said facility,\u201d DCS said in a statement.<\/p>\n

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The department was at pains to explain that although imprisonment does not strip individuals of their rights, in the context of imprisonment, some rights \u201care 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\u201d.<\/p>\n

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\u201cEqually, 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.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThat 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,\u201d the department added.<\/p>\n

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Solitary confinement and access to legal representation<\/strong><\/p>\n

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The DCS pointed out that there is \u201cno practice of solitary confinement in South Africa\u201d and dismissed Bester\u2019s allegations that he was kept in that state as \u201cincorrect and fallacious\u201d.<\/p>\n

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\u201cC-Max, at Kgo\u0161i 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 (pictured) that he is in a single cell, as a form of solitary confinement, is, with respect, disingenuous.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThabo 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.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThabo 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\u2019s assertion that he is segregated is not correct. The facility comprises only single cells,\u201d the department said.<\/p>\n

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On the issue of whether Bester is allowed access to legal advice and representation, the DCS said Bester had made \u201chundreds of telephone calls to various lawyers\u201d for the period 12 October 2023 until 16 July 2024.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThabo Bester is asking for \u2018an 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.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThabo 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\u2019s request. To be succinct, the request is unreasonable. Thabo Bester\u2019s legal representatives can communicate with him during the consultation and take down the necessary notes.<\/p>\n

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\u201cA consultation with his legal representatives from 09:00 – 16:00 on a daily basis is neither reasonable nor practical. Kgo\u0161i 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\u2019s request is acceded to, it will mean that one of the consultation rooms will be occupied by him the whole day,\u201d the department asserted.<\/p>\n

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Other allegations<\/strong><\/p>\n

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In respect of Bester\u2019s request to access electronic gadgets or equipment and the use of hand and leg cuffs the DCS said:<\/p>\n

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