WATCH | Bester prison contract dispute

JOHANNESBURG - Bloemfontein Correctional Contracts will now duke it out with the Department of Correctional Services in court.

BCC is the company that hired G4S to run operations at the Mangaung Correctional Centre where Thabo Bester escaped.

Correctional Services had announced it would take over the prison on the 1st of August, but at the eleventh hour, BCC invoked the mediation clause in the contract.

In March 2000, DCS entered into a 25-year contract with BCC to design, construct and operate the Mangaung prison.

The contract was set to expire on the 30th of June 2026 but DCS decided to terminate the contract following Bester’s escape.