services and police foiled a planned escape at St Albans in Eastern Cape
7 June 2006
The net is closing in around offenders who dare attempt to escape and
corrupt officials who assist them, following this morningâs foiled escape at St
Albans Correctional Centre in Port Elizabeth which led to the arrest of two
accomplices.
At 05h30 this morning the Department of Correctional Services and the South
African Police foiled an escape planned to take place at St. Albans and
arrested two accomplices following a tip-off. Investigations are also underway
and further arrests are expected. We are confident that our strategy to
eliminate escapes is working as championed by the overwhelming number of our
ideal correctional officials, the support of the community and of our partners
in the criminal justice system.
This is a stern warning to offenders who dare attempt to escape and corrupt
officials who may assist them that we will definitely ânail them down and shame
themâ.
The attempted escape follows an escape of two life-serving offenders from
Middledrift Maximum Correctional Centre who were convicted of, among others,
murder, armed robbery and possession of illegal firearms. There are indications
that the two incidents might have been collectively planned and linked.
Although the offenders have not been re-arrested, there is progress in the
case as four accomplices have now been arrested in Middledrift near the centre,
King Williamâs Town and near Alexandra yesterday. One of the two get-away cars
in the Middledrift incident, a red Toyota Corolla, apparently hijacked in Algoa
Park in Port Elizabeth, was found by police abandoned just outside of King
Williamâs Town. The second get-away car, a white Honda Ballade, was found with
three alleged accomplices near Alexandria.
Three (3) officials identified from the video footage of the centreâs closed
circuit television security system were immediately suspended and are expected
to face a disciplinary hearing in due course. They face dismissal if found
guilty.
The two armed offenders that escaped from Middledrift are Pakamisa Myoli,
41, of Port Elizabeth and Thanduxolo Jayiya, 32, of Zwelitsha, King Williamâs
Town. They held hostage an official in Middledrift and made their way through
the gates to a get-away car allegedly organised by the accomplices arrested
before the end of the day yesterday. The Middledrift escape is the first from
the maximum security centre in almost three years.
The department seeks to sustain the rate of reduction of escapes, which went
down by 90.3% between 1996 and 2005, from 1244 to 120 escapes, because as
Minister Ngconde Balfour said, âone escape is one more too muchâ.
The Department and the South African Police Services are praising the
community for the arrests of the accomplices already affected and also appeal
to the public to give information on the two dangerous and armed offenders to
their nearest police stations. The public is also warned not to attempt to
arrest them or confront them.
Enquiries
Luphumzo Kebeni
Cell: 082 453 2244
Tel: (021) 462 2338
Website: http://www.dcs.gov.za
Issued by: Department of Correctional Services (http://www.dcs.gov.za )
7 June 2006
