The investigation into the officials who were on duty during Thabo Bester’s escape “should be reopened,” according to a statement

The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) calls for the Department of Correctional Services to reopen its investigation into the officials on duty when Thabo Bester, also known as the Facebook rapist, escaped from the Mangaung Correctional Centre in May of last year. The department only confirmed his escape this past weekend, and Bester was later declared dead after a fire in his cell as reported by Jacarandafm.

However, doubts arose when a man resembling Bester was spotted in a Gauteng shopping mall this month, and DNA analysis confirmed that the body found in his cell was not his.

Popcru’s Richard Mamabolo argues that the internal investigation into the fire was insufficient, as officials were only checked for negligence rather than the possibility of an organized syndicate facilitating Bester’s escape and arranging a body to resemble him.

Mamabolo believes officials working at the maximum-security facility should be questioned again, as the department attempted to sweep the matter under the carpet.

Photo: Facebook / @Cylia Motsoeneng Zengele