Third prison escapee hands himself over to police

The third prison escapee, Bafeletse Nyembe, has handed himself over to the Vosloorus Magistrate’s Court after being on the run from the police since his escape from lawful custody on Friday in Boksburg.

According to Brigadier Brenda Muridili, Nyembe 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 he will appear again in court on 27 January 2022.

Two other escapees, Nkululeko Nkomo and Robert Hlatshwayo, have also appeared in court for business robbery, attempted murder and possession of unlicensed firearm as well as escaping from lawful custody.

Nkomo and Hlatswayo were rearrested in Pretoria, Olivenhoutbosch at a filing station, corner of Summit Road and R55, on Sunday night.

They have been remanded in custody and are due in court again on 27 January 2022.

The manhunt for the remaining three fugitives continues.

The police launched a manhunt after six inmates escaped from custody. The inmates escaped while enroute to Court at Vosloorus.

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According to police, 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 streets.

The five of the six escapees were due at Court for a Dawnpark case of business robbery, attempted murder and possession of unlicensed firearm and the sixth escapee was due for his first appearance on a shoplifting case.

“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 kindly contact our Crime Stop number 08600 10111,” said Muridili.

The Provincial Commissioner of Police in Gauteng, Lieutenant General Elias Mawela, has commended the swift apprehension of the other 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 that we do not leave any stone unturned in our quest to bring all the escapees back to prison,” he said.