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Makhanda prison break: Third prison escapee re-arrested

The third of the seven prisoners who escaped in October last year from the Grahamstown Correctional Facility in Makhanda, Eastern Cape, has been re-arrested.

According to Warrant officer Majola Nkohli, on Monday (10 April 2023) at about 2am, three suspicious people were seen jumping over a fence of a private game reserve in the area.

Nkohli said reaction was immediate and the anti-poaching unit was activated which resulted in the arrest of one of the three suspects.

Captured

“The other two managed to flee. The suspect was found in possession of hunting implements, and was detained for contravening the National Environmental Management and Biodiversity Act 10 of 2004 Section 57 (attempted hunting of a threatened or protected species without a permit).”

“Preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect was one of the seven inmates, who escaped from the Makhanda Correctional Service facility in October last year.

“The 34-year-old suspect is due to appear in the Makhanda Magistrates’ Court on 12 April, on charges of contravention of the National Environmental Management and Biodiversity Act,” said Nkohli in a statement on Tuesday.

Prison break

In October 2022, Simba Masinga was nabbed while hiding in bushes outside Makhanda. Bennet Kwarrie, the first escapee to be recaptured, was caught by police in the Free State after a truck had hit him.

Correctional services spokesperson, Singabakho Nxumalo, said at the time that Kwarrie was in a stable condition in a health facility in the Free State where he is under strict police guard. Reports also revealed that the men are all Zimbabwean nationals.

The Department of Correctional Services said they were considered dangerous and urged the public not to carry out a citizen’s arrest, but to call the police if they spotted the men.

Police also believe that the detainees escaped through a prison window.

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