READER LETTER | Home affairs’ Thabo Bester report suspicious

With the trust deficit so high in SA, it’ll be very difficult for some to wholeheartedly believe anything from government. The revelations during parliament’s portfolio committee on justice and correctional services session confirm the fears of many law-abiding citizens that the country is sliding towards a dysfunctional government.

The ministers tasked constitutionally with responsibilities of citizens’ safety and inmates together with senior departments officials stumbled to provide plausible answers regarding the Thabo Bester jailbreak and Dr Nandipha Magudumana debacle. 

During media briefing, energetic minister of home affairs Aaron Motswaledi eloquently presented a report on the identity of Bester compiled by his department. Living in a country with such high corruption such as ours and bearing in mind the track record of home affairs officials, how can such a report be ratified as the gospel truth by the public?

The whole exercise casts serious cover-up suspicions..

The public does have enough evidence that in SA, fraudulent documents are prevalent. Not so long ago, a decorated PhD graduate and  former mayor presented a fraudulent insolvency rehabilitation certificate.

The country can’t afford to leave anything to chance at this stage because there is a high possibility the person alleged to be Bester is not South African. The eNCA interviews with a person purported to be Bester’s mother calls for an in-depth investigation regarding his proper profile. The department of home affairs should immediately commission an independent investigation into Bester’s family background.

Bester and his mother must undergo DNA tests, then Motswaledi can heroically declare without a shadow of a doubt that the inmate named Thabo Bester is South African.

In the absence of substantial verification, the government is at liberty to kiss the little trust left goodbye.

Author John C Maxwell writes: “You build trust with others each time you choose integrity over image, truth over convenience, or honour over personal gain.”

Jerry Tsie, Pretoria