Rooftop escape: Limpopo police hunt for three detainees on the run

The Limpopo police have launched a massive manhunt for three escapees awaiting trial who escaped from custody.

The police in Saselamani, Vhembe District, said the three males awaiting trial are aged between 32 and 33, and they escaped from the police detention facility in the early hours of Thursday.

According to police spokesperson Brigadier Hlulani Mashaba, officers were on duty at around 3:26 a.m. when they were conducting routine hourly patrol duties and heard an unusual noise from the cells.

“Upon arrival in the cells, they discovered that three of the inmates had escaped through the roof. Circumstances surrounding the incident are being investigated,” Mashaba said.

Escapees aged 32 and 33

The detainees who escaped are 33-year-old Mikateko Ronald Chauke, arrested for burglary; 32-year-old Jimmy Mtivhele, also arrested for burglary; and 32-year-old Dumisani Respect Chauke, arrested for two counts of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm.

“The police have immediately activated a manhunt for the three male escapees. They are all South African citizens, and they are from the Saselamani policing area,” said Mashaba.

“Police investigations are underway.”

The provincial commissioner of the South African Police Service (Saps) in Limpopo, Lieutenant General Thembi Mashabahas, ordered the police to track down the suspects with a view to recapture them.

ALSO READ: Manhunt launched after inmate escapes from KZN prison a week after imprisonment

Mashaba further called upon the community to provide information about the suspects’ whereabouts.

Anyone with information that can assist with information on the whereabouts of the escapees should contact the investigating officer, Detective Captain Nkhangweleni Tshilande, at 072 728 1504 or SAPS Crime Stop at 08600 10111; alternatively, report it to the nearest police station or share it anonymously on the MySAPS app.

Thabo Bester

Prison escapes have drawn much attention since Thabo Bester‘s escape last year. Bester was found guilty of rape and murder.

Bester escaped from the G4S-managed Mangaung Correctional Centre (MCC) in Bloemfontein in May 2022, even though at first it was thought he had set himself on fire in his cell to commit suicide.

The burnt body discovered in his cell, though initially pronounced dead by the Department of Correctional Services South Africa, was not that of Bester.

ALSO READ: Escaped KwaZulu-Natal inmate captured in Nkandla

His plan went south after being spotted shopping at a Woolworths in Sandton City, nearly two months after his reported death at the prison.

Following his escape from jail on 3 May 2022, a manhunt was launched, which led to his arrest in Tanzania.