The privately operated Mangaung Correctional Centre in Bloemfontein, from which convicted rapist and murderer Thabo Bester infamously escaped in May 2022, will revert to state control in July.
The prison has been operated by G4S since it was built 25 years ago, but the company’s contract is now the subject of a legal battle with the department of correctional services, which has been trying to terminate it.
Bester, serving a life term for rape and murder, escaped from the Mangaung facility by faking his own death in a fire and was arrested with his girlfriend, Nandipha Magudumana, in Tanzania in April 2023. His trial for that escape is under way in the Bloemfontein high court.
Correctional services spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo told the Sunday Times the department was no longer “pursuing private management of correctional centres”.
“The strategic direction is to strengthen and consolidate public sector management.”
Nxumalo said G4S was no longer being considered as a prison operator, and preparations for the government to take over the facility, managed by a consortium called Bloemfontein Correctional Contracts, had begun.
“The department is implementing a structured and irreversible transition process to assume full management and operational responsibility of the facility from July 1,” he said.
“A dedicated internal task team has been established to oversee all operational, human resource, security, and administrative aspects of the takeover. This is already at an advanced stage, and the department has formally briefed parliament on the progress made.”
Nxumal said the decision to take over management of the jail “reflects a strategic policy position informed by operational experience and institutional capacity”. The department had the required expertise, systems and personnel to manage the facility.
“The department has gained valuable insights into contract management, oversight mechanisms, operational controls and accountability systems. These lessons have strengthened the department’s institutional capacity and will enhance governance and operational efficiency."
Nxumalo said the contract litigation with G4S was still in court but this would not hinder the takeover process. He said if the court ruled in favour of the department, the G4S contract would be terminated immediately. If not, the contract would run its course to the end of June.
Lukas Muntingh, director of the Dullah Omar Institute, expressed concern at the department’s capacity to take over the facility. “Overall, the correctional services budget is shrinking and has shrunk significantly over the last 15 years.”
Kgomotso Ramolobeng, chair of the correctional services portfolio committee, said: “Mangaung has faced serious and persistent operational challenges under private management, including allegations of abuse, governance failures, contractual disputes and protracted court battles between the department and the private operator.”
She said the committee was concerned about the death of a prisoner at the Mangaung jail in March last year, which resulted in a murder case being opened. G4S employees have been named as suspects. “[This] underscores deep concerns about accountability, oversight and the protection of inmates’ constitutional rights.”
Ramolobeng said “the state bears the ultimate constitutional responsibility to ensure that correctional facilities are safe, secure, humane and compliant with the law”. The private sector model for prison management “must be assessed against its human rights record, transparency, cost-effectiveness and the state’s ability to exercise effective oversight”.
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