Minister of justice and correctional services Ronald Lamola gave the keynote address at the inauguration ceremony of more than 600 aspirant prosecutors who completed their training in Johannesburg on Thursday morning.
After the ceremony, Lamola was asked about the Thabo Bester escape and whether he should step aside.
“The reality is that he must be arrested and recaptured, wherever it is. And whoever played a role to help [Bester] to escape from the facility must also be arrested. And whoever also played a role beyond the escape from the facility to help him outside and all those things, all of them must be people of interest.
“So at the end of the day, this has been a huge public embarrassment for the government. The only way to redeem ourselves is to recapture him. We believe that if he's recaptured, the message will be sent that you can't escape from our facilities and nothing happens. And we believe that will send a good message to society and also to the international community, that the rule of law is still prevailing in South Africa.”
When Lamola was told there are certain people calling for him to step aside from his role as minister, Lamola replied: “I think such calls must be informed by the investigative reports.
“It must be informed by who played what role and also what then becomes the consequences. As soon as we became aware [of the situation] we did our best to ensure that the terms of the contracts were adhered to and the Correctional Services Act is complied with.
“Myself and the national commissioner will take the ultimate responsibility in terms of the Correctional Services Act. Even if there is an [private] operator of the facility. And for that reason, we have taken action in terms of the act, and we will continue to account to the people of South Africa as to what happened,” said Lamola.
The 600-plus prosecutors are now fully qualified and join the ranks of prosecutors at the district courts across the country.
WATCH | 'Bester incident has been a huge public embarrassment,' says Ronald Lamola
Minister of justice and correctional services Ronald Lamola gave the keynote address at the inauguration ceremony of more than 600 aspirant prosecutors who completed their training in Johannesburg on Thursday morning.
After the ceremony, Lamola was asked about the Thabo Bester escape and whether he should step aside.
“The reality is that he must be arrested and recaptured, wherever it is. And whoever played a role to help [Bester] to escape from the facility must also be arrested. And whoever also played a role beyond the escape from the facility to help him outside and all those things, all of them must be people of interest.
“So at the end of the day, this has been a huge public embarrassment for the government. The only way to redeem ourselves is to recapture him. We believe that if he's recaptured, the message will be sent that you can't escape from our facilities and nothing happens. And we believe that will send a good message to society and also to the international community, that the rule of law is still prevailing in South Africa.”
When Lamola was told there are certain people calling for him to step aside from his role as minister, Lamola replied: “I think such calls must be informed by the investigative reports.
“It must be informed by who played what role and also what then becomes the consequences. As soon as we became aware [of the situation] we did our best to ensure that the terms of the contracts were adhered to and the Correctional Services Act is complied with.
“Myself and the national commissioner will take the ultimate responsibility in terms of the Correctional Services Act. Even if there is an [private] operator of the facility. And for that reason, we have taken action in terms of the act, and we will continue to account to the people of South Africa as to what happened,” said Lamola.
The 600-plus prosecutors are now fully qualified and join the ranks of prosecutors at the district courts across the country.
Temporary manager appointed at Mangaung prison after Thabo Bester escape
Body to replace Thabo Bester taken to prison in private vehicle
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