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South African High Court orders government to repay R1.7 million to Mangaung Correctional Centre operator
via The Citizen4 min read
The Gauteng High Court in Pretoria has ordered the Minister and National Commissioner of Correctional Services to repay at least R1.7 million to Bloemfontein Correctional Contracts BCC, the company operating the Mangaung Correctional Centre. This ruling follows the department's decision to take control of the private prison in March 2023, ten months after rapist and murderer Thabo Bester escaped. Acting Judge DM Hinrichsen found that the department had no legal right to invoke Section 112 of the Correctional Services Act, which grants emergency powers, as there was no present threat to safety and security at the time. The judge suggested the commissioner might have acted with "improper purpose" due to heightened media attention surrounding Bester's "embarrassing" escape. Bester, serving a life sentence, allegedly faked his death in May 2022 by bribing G4S officials, a company contracted by BCC to operate the prison. G4S was fined R880,000 for the escape. The department claimed R1.72 million in credits from BCC for running the prison between March and July 2023, which BCC paid "under protest" before challenging the decision in court. The 25-year contract between BCC and the department is set to expire at the end of June this year.
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