Minister of Justice and Correctional Services Ronald Lamola will no longer take up the issue of Inspecting Judge Edwin Cameron leaking the escape of Thabo Bester because parliamentarians have dealt with it.
Lamola said the matter was behind him now and that he has not even engaged Judge Cameron about it since it became public.
Cameron, who is the Inspecting Judge of the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services, told MPs a few months ago that he had leaked to the media the escape of Bester because not much was done about it.
He said it appeared the investigations were slow.
Cameron learnt about the escape last year and informed senior officials about it.
The escape of Bester only came to the public's attention early this year, and this led to his arrest with Dr Nandipha Magudumana in Tanzania.
More than 10 other people have been arrested in relation to the escape of Bester at Mangaung Correctional Centre.
Lamola said he will no longer take up the issue with Cameron as the National Assembly’s portfolio committee on justice and correctional services has dealt with it.
Lamola, who was replying to a written parliamentary question from EFF MP Yoliswa Yako, said he considered the matter closed.
"The Portfolio Committee in its meeting on this matter thoroughly examined the issue, amongst other things, as to why Justice Cameron chose to disclose the details of the escape incident to the media in the way that he did. Therefore, there is no need to probe the matter further," said Lamola.
In the meeting of the committee a few months ago Cameron explained his reasons for going to the media with the information.
The committee had called Lamola, the department of correctional services, Cameron and G4S security firm, that was running the prison, to make submissions on the escape.
At the time, Bester and Magudumana were on the run before they were arrested in Tanzania.
The Department of Correctional Services said it was going to terminate its contract with G4S because of the matter.
Bester, Magudumana, and former G4S officials are on trial in court in Bloemfontein.
siyabonga.mkhwanazi@inl.co.za
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