Escapes from police custody highest in Limpopo

As a province, Limpopo leads the pack in escapes from police custody since 2017.

These shocking statistics were revealed by national police commissioner Fani Masemola during a meeting of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) last month.

The question came after a 15 February incident in which a suspect, Tshepo Botata, escaped from a moving police van while being transported to Polokwane Correctional Services by members of the South African Police Service (Saps).

Botata is still on the run and faces charges of rape, murder and burglary.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) told the NCOP during the meeting that Botata’s escape was not an isolated incident and that the escape itself posed serious concerns around the capability of Saps to effectively contain dangerous criminals and secure the safety of the public.

The party singled out a few incidents that saw criminals or suspects escaping from the hands of the police in recent years.

On 22 July, 2021, four dangerous prisoners escaped from a police van in Polokwane; in May 2019, seven escaped from the Modimolle police cells; in September 2019, four prisoners escaped from Hoedspruit police cells; in November 2019, three awaiting-trial detainees escaped from Tinmyne police cells.

And in July 2020, two prisoners were killed at the Limpopo High Court in Thohoyandou during an attempted escape.

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These instances are just a few of a litany of similar ones. In all the incidents, the DA accused the Saps of being ineffective to secure prisoners during their incarceration in police cells and during their transportation to and from court.

The party told the NCOP that police’s “ineffectiveness” was putting ordinary citizens at great risk. “The Saps is currently not fulfilling their mandate to ensure the safety of our communities.

“We, as the DA, will hold them accountable for any incompetence, negligence or the temptation of commuting corruption,” said DA member of the Limpopo Provincial Legislature Katlego Phala in a statement.

In response to a question at the NCOP meeting, Masemola said Limpopo recorded a total of 230 escapes from police holding cells, the highest nationally since 2017.

Also, 24 escapes were recorded from police vehicles and 176 from police detention.

The response of police also left much to be desired. Of the 430 escapees, only 321 were rearrested. North West, came in at second place with 197 escapes, followed by Gauteng with 189 escapes, Kwazulu-Natal with 184 escapes and the Eastern Cape with 125 escapes.

“We will continue to accentuate the challenges within the Saps that prevent our men and women in blue to ensure their own safety and the safety of our communities,” the DA’s Phala told The Citizen on Wednesday.