G4S guard Senohe Matsoara, who appeared in the Bloemfontein Magistrate's Court on Tuesday along with Zolile Sekeleni, was the on-site night duty supervisor the night convicted rapist and murderer Thabo Bester escaped from prison, Parliament's justice and correctional services portfolio committee has heard.

Bester escaped from the Mangaung Correctional Centre (MCC) in Bloemfontein on 3 May 2022 after a fire broke out in his cell.

He was recently rearrested with celebrity doctor Nandipha Magudumana in Tanzania.

The guard and Sekeleni, who is Magudumana's 65-year-old father, were also arrested. They have been charged with murder, defeating the ends of justice, and aiding an escape. Matsoara faces an extra charge of arson for the fire in the cell.

On Tuesday, Cobus Groenewoud, regional commercial director for G4S Africa, addressed the portfolio committee on the escaped convict.

He said Matsoara was suspended and ultimately fired for failing to follow clear and well-established MCC policies and procedures, adding that he:

• failed to complete inspection rounds;
• failed to attend to incidents on time;
• directed staff to insignificant tasks during the incident;
• ignored a call to attend to a report of smoke in Broadway Cell 35, where Bester was held; and
• failed to properly account for his movements and actions on the night of 2/3 May 2022.

Matsoara was dismissed on 29 September 2022 and police arrested him last week.

Another reason Matsoara was believed to have helped Bester, according to fellow prison guards, was because he bought a brand-new Volkswagen T-Roc 2.0, with a salary of between R15 000 and R18 000 a month.

Two central control room officials were also suspended and then fired because they failed to "follow clearly established MCC policies and procedures and did not monitor and report events in a timely manner".

Groenewoud told the committee that all three dismissed officials were taking G4S to the CCMA.

The committee meeting continues.