Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi says his department did not sanction DNA tests on convicted rapist and murderer Thabo Bester for identification purposes.
He has told the Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs that SAPS did not conduct the tests in 2012, as Bester pleaded guilty to rape and murder charges.
Bester dubbed the Facebook Rapist, escaped from the Mangaung Correctional Services last May.
Motsoaledi says identity matters around Bester are still continuing.
“We are not doing DNA as Home Affairs because it would be duplication. Police are already doing that, and this is what happened. Bester was caught for rape for the first time, but while the police were processing it, Bester admitted guilt and accepted everything, together with the documents the police were bringing on the rape. So that process was not continued with us, but a sample is in there.”
Public confidence
Meanwhile, the Thabo Bester saga does not bode well for public confidence in South Africa’s criminal justice system. This is according to at least one security and policing analyst, as well as members of Parliament’s Justice and Correctional Services Portfolio Committee.
Bester’s activities behind bars, the staging of his death, his escape, and his ability to elude authorities since May of last year have caused the public to question the capabilities of the state.
More details in the report below:
