POLL | Do you believe police will find Thabo Bester?

“A postmortem conducted on the body that burnt beyond recognition in cell 35 at Mangaung Correctional Centre revealed it was an adult male with blunt force trauma to his head. The postmortem report further revealed that there were no signs of smoke inhalation in the body,” it said.

“Furthermore, it uncovered that the pancreas and the spleen in the body were in the early stages of decomposition. Over and above that, the DNA sequencing with a person identified to be the mother of Bester failed to indicate a common ancestor or a match.”

Their confirmation drew questions about the role of prison officials in the escape and whether law enforcement would be able to recapture Bester.

Some claimed police were already working hard on the case and had evidence to follow, while others said Bester was always one step ahead.

A few said it was all talk and there is no willpower to find the criminal.

Build One SA leader Mmusi Maimane, the EFF, and The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) joined the public outrage over the escape.

Maimane said police and correctional services should account and called on justice minister Ronald Lamola and police minister Bheki Cele to hold a press briefing to explain how they will protect the public. 

“We need a new minister of police immediately. Thabo Bester held live-streams from prison, faked his death, was living large in Sandton and the government is now asking the public to help them catch him. They showed us drones on Monday — use that technology to catch this murderer,” said Maimane. 

The EFF said Bester's escape was testament to the incompetence of the correctional services system, and endangered the lives of women in SA.

“We call for a massive manhunt to be conducted by the SA Police Service, in conjunction with intelligence services, to track and apprehend Thabo Bester. Furthermore, all those who were employed at Mangaung Correctional Centre during the period of Bester's imprisonment and his escape must immediately be brought in for questioning,” said the EFF.