The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) said on Thursday it wants immediate and decisive action against those responsible for the prison escape of convicted rapist and murderer Thabo Bester, and wants the Ministry of Correctional Services to once again account on this matter.

The party will make its request through Parliament’s Portfolio Committees on Police and Correctional Services.

The EFF wants criminal charges to be pursued against any correctional services staff involved, and also wants private security company G4S to reappear in front of the committees, as the party believes that it played a role in facilitating the escape.

The EFF said it was not surprised by the revelations uncovered in the recent Public Protector's report, which it said confirmed what the party has long believed: “…that private prisons have devolved into criminal syndicates where corruption, negligence, and even organised violence thrive.”

The party pointed out that the Public Protector’s report exposed the “utter failure” of controller of the G4S-run Mangaung Correctional Centre Chris Mahonono and Roseline Phahlane, who oversaw contracts at the facility.

“Instead of fulfilling their constitutional duty to protect the public from a dangerous and violent criminal, these officials chose to delay reporting Bester's escape for six months, after being fully aware that he had faked his suicide as early as May 2022,” it said.

The EFF added that their failure to act showed a casual disregard for the safety of South Africans, particularly women, who could have fallen victim to Bester during his time on the run.

The party said Bester's escape was not an “isolated incident but a symptom of a broken system”.

“…these prisons are not institutions of rehabilitation or security; they have become a breeding ground for criminal operations, where even guns-for-hire have become part of the horrifying reality,” the party alleged.

The EFF blamed the African National Congress (ANC) government for creating what it termed a "fertile ground for criminality to flourish", saying this was owing to the ANC’s continued outsourcing of critical public services to private entities.

“We categorically condemn the ANC government's reliance on private entities like G4S, whose focus is profit, not public safety. These corporations have failed in their primary duty to prevent escapes and uphold security within prisons, and their accountability must be pursued. The negligence shown by officials at Mangaung Correctional Centre, including delaying the opening of a criminal case, is not merely administrative failure – it is complicity in perpetuating the lawlessness that endangers the lives of South Africans,” said the EFF.

The EFF wanted South Africa to move away from the “corrupt and ineffective” model of privately-run prisons, that it said had proven incapable of ensuring public safety.