Acornhoek police rearrest escapee

Residents across Mpumalanga were asked by the provincial police to be on the lookout for an escaped prisoner, Carabo Chiloane (29).

SAPS members from Acornhoek rearrested Chiloane on Monday August 29.

According to the police, he is said to have been hiding in Boelang Trust in an RDP house near Acornhoek. The police asked Steelburger/Lydenburg News to reach out to the paper’s distribution area for intelligence from readers, which could lead to Chiloane’s rearrest.

This is after he had escaped from lawful custody at the holding cells in the Emakhazeni Magistrate’s Court on Thursday August 25.

The charges he was initially to appear on, on August 25, were in connection with murder that occurred in Machadodorp in November 2020. He was also charged for attempted murder, hijacking and business robbery that had been carried out in Machadodorp too.

Also read: Four suspects arrested for possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition in Bushbuckridge

It is alleged that Chiloane somehow got inside a consultation room next to the holding cell at the court, without being noticed, and planned his escape.

The police immediately assembled their resources in pursuit of Chiloane and the information gathered by the intelligence structure paid off.

A provincial police spokesperson, Brigadier Selvy Mohlala, will confirm Chiloane’s next court appearance in the Emakhazeni Magistrate’s Court.

The police are still investigating the circumstances regarding his escape.

Lieutenant General Semakaleng Manamela, the provincial commissioner of the SAPS in Mpumalanga, thanked all role players, including the police as well as the media houses and the general public, for their support and commitment to ensuring that the suspect was swiftly brought to book.

“We are glad that the suspect was rearrested in a short space of time. What he did was to add more charges to himself. If it happens that the suspect was somehow assisted by officials, heads will roll without any fear or favour,” said Manamela.