In response to Thabo Bester's escape from a privately managed jail, South Africa's Justice Minister Ronald Lamola said to MPs on Thursday that he will not step down.

Following his arrest last week in Tanzania, Bester was transported to South Africa on Thursday in a specially chartered aircraft.

For luring his victims, he is referred to as the "Facebook rapist" and uses the social networking site.

In addition to him, his girlfriend, the well-known doctor Nandipha Magudumana, was also deported after being taken into custody.

The minister expressed regret and claimed whole responsibility for the prison breach.

"I am not going to resign because I did what I was supposed to do," Ronald Lamola told a parliamentary committee on justice.

He said the department of correctional services has a duty of ensuring inmates were kept in custody until the end of their sentences.