Also in 2013, the Department of Correctional Services investigated allegations of unauthorised use of force in the prison and that prison management had breached the Correctional Services Act on several occasions. Between 2017 and April 2023, G4S reported almost 5 000 security incidents at Mangaung Prison to the Department of Correctional Services. In May 2022, Thabo Bester escaped from Mangaung prison, spending at least R150,000 on bribes to prison officials and faking his death by smuggling a corpse into his cell and lighting it on fire. At another G4S prison in the UK, the government terminated a contract because prisoners had taken control of the prison. Information about BCC’s operations and accounts, and about the workings of the prison, is also not made public (see Mystery surrounds black empowerment gains from G4S prison contract).

Source: News 24 August 24, 2023 18:23 UTC