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Thabo Bester: Bereng family receives remains, asks space to grieve

───   KEKELETSO MOSEBETSI 08:09 Sun, 30 Apr 2023

Thabo Bester: Bereng family receives remains, asks space to grieve | News Article
Katlego Bereng.

The grieving family of Katlego Bereng, whose body was used as a decoy in the escape of convicted murderer and rapist Thabo Bester from the Mangaung Maximum Correctional facility last year, has finally received the remains of their son and grandson.

This after viewing the remains of the 32-year-old at the government mortuary in Bloemfontein on Wednesday (26/4), after which Bereng's grandmother was admitted to hospital. Bereng's aunt, Mantsane Bereng, confirmed she was discharged on the same day to support her child, Bereng's mother, during this difficult time.

On Friday morning, while the family waited for the MEC of Health, Mathabo Leeto, to visit them, the grandmother suffered another shock and had to be admitted to hospital again.

Mantsane Bereng said the family has not been coping well with the news, especially the manner in which they found out how their son's body was burnt and used for Bester's escape from jail. She has since requested that the family be given space to grieve, despite the matter being of public interest.

ALSO READ: Thabo Bester's escape: Grandmother of cell fire victim admitted to hospital

"As a family, we have decided to take a step back from the media so we can be given space to grieve and to process what was revealed to us to our surprise on Sunday. We have all been following the story like any other person; however, when it came to our realisation that it was our own Katlego, it was a big shock! It was a big surprise. Obviously, we are not in the right frame of mind to be answering questions," she said.

ALSO READ: Free State Health MEC visits Bester cell fire victim’s family

Mantsane Bereng further said that Leeto informed the family that her department has initiated their own internal investigations into the matter. She adds that they are relieved to finally have a chance to bury their child despite challenging circumstances.

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