Back behind bars – five fugitives brought back after desperate escape

The freedom of five Dundee Prison escapees was short lived as they were arrested and are now back behind bars.

Following a multi-disciplinary, intelligence-driven operation by Dundee detectives, Crime Intelligence and the Newcastle K9 Unit, the five prisoners who escaped from the Dundee prison over the weekend were re-arrested.

They will appear in the Dundee Magistrate’s Court facing charges of escaping from lawful custody.

Following up on information received by Cluster Commander, Brig Khanyile, Detective Warrant Officer Antony Nkabinde left for Madadeni last night where he received information the fugitives were in a park, waiting the arrival of a Quantum vehicle that would transport them further.

Backed up by the units from Newcastle, further information was received  and shortly before 11pm  a house in Madadeni’s section 3 was ‘hit hard’ by police – the operation took the escapees by surprise and all were arrested without resistance.

A woman in the house claimed that one of the fugitives, Cassim Alijan – implicated in the murder of Rekha Govender in July – had a friend who was her boyfriend

Initially, six men escaped from the Dundee Correctional Services  October  31. They escaped through a hole in the ceiling – a ‘very tiny hole’,  commented police.

Five men managed to land ‘safely’ on the pavement adjacent to Grey Street but the sixth man, Mduduzi Mabaso (30), became entangled in the razor wire. He cut himself badly before landing on the pavement.  He twisted an ankle and injured an arm.

He managed to limp after his fellow inmates who had made their way up Grey Street towards Pick n Pay.  Mabaso flagged down a passing Mbube Guard van and asked them for assistance.  The driver, not realising he was an escapee (awaiting trial prisoners in custody do not wear convict garb), said ‘he would come back and assist in a minute or two’.

However, the Mbube van was stopped by a Correctional Services officer who asked if they had stopped anyone ‘running up Grey Street’. Putting two and two together, the Mbube driver promptly turned around, went back and arrested the injured Mabaso.

He was taken to hospital and treated.

The prisoners, Cassim Alijan (33), Bongani Kubheka (25), Bongonkosi Sithebe (41), Mondli Gamede (26), Lethukuthula Shabalala (25) and Mduduzi Mabaso (30) were in custody for crimes such as murder, rape house robbery and attempted rape.

Kubheka, Sithebe and Gamede are implicated in the double murder in Dannhauser while Shabalala and Mabaso and being held on charges of rape.

Dundee police were full of praise for Warrant Officer Nkabinde and his team who had worked tirelessly to bring the desperados to book.

However, Correctional Services personnel on watch when the men escape could be facing disciplinary hearings.

The KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Mmamonnye Ngobeni commended police for the speedy arrest of the escapees. “I want to thank members of the community who came forward with information that assisted police in locating the whereabouts of the escapees.”