The father of a man whose body was used for Thabo Bester's escape from his prison cells told Scrolla.Africa that his son was not an inmate nor was he arrested for any crime.
But his body was found in the prison cell of Bester, a convicted murderer and rapist.
Batho Mpholo said he demands answers from the Department of Justice as to how the body of his late son, Katlego Junior Mpholo, 31, got into the Mangaung Correctional Centre in Bloemfontein.
Initially, the charred body found in the cell was believed to be that of convicted murderer Thabo Bester. But after DNA testing, the body was identified as the deceased Katlego.
Mpholo told Scrolla.Africa that he suspected that his son was kidnapped, killed, and kept somewhere until the body was used for whatever mission was planned.
"It doesn't make sense. My son was not arrested to begin with," he said.
"We have security systems at the Correctional Centre to monitor everything. But because our system is corrupt, my son's body was used to free a criminal. I need justice for my son and I will fight for it."
He said he will be in Bloemfontein this week to find out if they could still identify the body.
"I want to see how badly the body was burned or if we could still recognise him," he said.
Mpholo said in April last year he requested Monica Matsie, the mother of the deceased, to open a case of a missing person after they struggled to find their son.
"I became worried when I did not see him on social media since he always had something to post," he said.
"I decided to call the mother to check where Katlego was. We checked with all our relatives and none had heard from him."
Mpholo said the bad news broke on Saturday when the DNA test came back positive.
"His mother got a call from the police and they took her along to the grandmother's house where they announced the news to them," he said.
"However, they could not go to the mortuary to check the body as they were told that the place where the body was kept was closed."
National Police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe released a statement saying: "As difficult as this news is, the SAPS is pleased to bring closure to the family."
