Mangaung Correctional Centre,
JOHANNESBURG - A High Court ruling has dealt a setback to government's response to Thabo Bester's prison escape, for now.
The court has set aside the decision to place Mangaung Correctional Centre under immediate state control, years after Bester escaped from the facility.
Judges found that the emergency powers used to justify the intervention in the middle of a G4S contract didn't meet the legal requirements set out in the Correctional Services Act.
The ruling also found that the prison continued operating and that existing contractual remedies had already been applied before the takeover decision was made.
The Correctional Services Department has been ordered to repay over R1.7-million linked to the intervention.
The judgment, however, does not interfere with the scheduled conclusion of the prison contract that officially ends on 30 June 2026.
Correctional Services may still assume full operational control of the facility from 1 July.