Fourteen of 15 escaped inmates rearrested within three days
Fourteen of 15 Christmas Day escapees from Fort Beaufort Correctional Centre have been rearrested in the Eastern Cape.
Eastern Cape Regional Commissioner, Nkosinati Breakfast says: “unprecedented cooperation of the South African Police Services, the community, parents of inmates and Correctional officials has ensured that 14 of the escapees were rearrested within three days.” He said “there are strong leads and we could re-arrest the remaining escapee soon”.
Mr Breakfast said two fathers from Qanda Location in Middledrift and Balfour brought back their sons, demonstrating the ideal scenario of corrections as a societal responsibility where families play a critical role in correcting the offending behavior. He thanked the families, SAPS, the community, the media (radios and newspapers) and the Emergency Support Teams (EST) of Correctional Services for their splendid work.
He asked the remaining one escapee (Sive Mtunyelwa from Alice - who is due to appear in court on 5 January 2015 for robbery and rape charges) to hand himself over to the police or at the nearest Correctional Center, as his ill-gotten freedom would not last. The re-arrested inmates are remand detainees facing various charges including murder, rape, robbery and assaults.
The 15 escapees broke through the roof of the Fort Beaufort Correctional Center that houses sentenced offenders and remand detainees, during early hours of the Christmas Day – 25 December 2014. Of the 22 youth remand detainees incarcerated in one cell at the center, only 15 escaped, which was only noticed at 03:50 on Christmas Day. EST members of Correctional Services rearrested four escapees, almost immediately.
Mr Breakfast said only one incident of escape was registered in the Eastern Cape since the launch of the Festive Season security plan called Operation Vala on 25 November 2014. He said the incident is being investigated. He reassured the public that Correctional Services, working with its partners within the criminal justice system and the communities, will do everything possible to ensure their safety.
Enquiries:
Nkosinati Breakfast
Cell: 082 780 0740
