All the inmates who escaped from the Malmesbury Correctional Facility in the Western Cape on Friday have been re-arrested.
Sixty-eight awaiting trial detainees escaped from the facility after overpowering correctional officers. At least one of the inmates is on trial for murder and others for robbery and assault.
Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola has commended the community of Malmesbury for assisting the authorities to apprehend most of the inmates.
Below is the statement from the department:
Rearrested inmates from Malmesbury Prison transferred to maximum security facilities: Lamola
Lamola says some of the inmates, who were rearrested following an escape from Malmesbury Prison, have been transferred to maximum security facilities.
Correctional services say they took the prison officials’ keys and locked three wardens in a cell. They then opened several other cells, and 68 escaped through the main entrance and over the roof.
Addressing the media on Saturday after visiting the facility, the Minister said: “The situation currently has been stabilised and the facility and the emergency support team has been activated furthermore some of the problematic inmates have been transferred out of the facility to the maximum facilities in the region the centre is currently under lockdown we want to ensure communities that we will do everything in our power to apprehend the remaining escapees.”
In the video below, Minister Lamola briefs media:
