A third prison escapee, Bafeletse Nyembe, handed himself over to the Vosloorus Magistrate’s Court after his escape from lawful custody on January 14.
According to Brig Brenda Muridili, Nyembe has appeared in court on a charge of theft as well as an additional charge of escaping from lawful custody.
He has been remanded in custody and will appear again in court on January 27.
Nkomo and Hlatswayo have also appeared in court for business robbery, attempted murder and possession of an unlicensed firearm as well as escaping from lawful custody. They have been remanded in custody and are due in court again on January 27.
The manhunt for the remaining three fugitives continues.
Two of the escapees rearrested while another suspect was arrested for aiding and abetting
The provincial commissioner of police, Lt-General Elias Mawela, has commended the swift apprehension of two fugitives, Nkululeko Nkomo and Robert Hlatshwayo.
The task team that was established immediately after the escape of six prisoners en route to Vosloorus Magistrate’s Court in Boksburg has been working around the clock to ensure the six are recaptured.
On January 14, the team made a breakthrough when they rearrested Nkomo and Hlatswayo in Olivenhoutbosch,
Pretoria, at a filling station. The third suspect was also arrested and he will be charged with aiding and abetting.
The commissioner has thanked the public for all the tip-offs the police have been receiving on the whereabouts of the fugitives.
“The public, as our eyes and ears in the communities, is playing a vital role in the fight against crime. Your tip-offs are all assessed and followed up to ensure we do not leave any stone unturned in our quest to bring all the escapees back to prison,” he said.
Six Boksburg prisoners escape en route to court
The police launched a manhunt after six inmates escaped from custody. The inmates escaped while en route to Vosloorus Magistrate’s Court.
According to reports, the police truck transporting the prisoners was ambushed by three armed men driving a silver Audi vehicle at the corner of Barry Marais and Rondebult roads.
The five of the six escapees were due in court for a Dawnpark case of business robbery, attempted murder and possession of an unlicensed firearm and the sixth escapee was due for his first appearance on a shoplifting case.
The police provided five of the prisoners’ names – Nkululeko Nkomo, Robert Hlatshwayo, Thulani Dube, Augustine Moyo and Mbongiseni Mkandla.
We are appealing to anyone with information on the whereabouts of the escapees as well as the suspects that were involved in freeing the accused to contact our Crime Stop number on 08600 10111.
