Eleven armed and dangerous prisoners on run after court escape

A BRAZEN escape was made by 11 awaiting-trial prisoners at the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday afternoon.

The inmates were scheduled to be escorted from the court building to the Johannesburg Central Prison (also known as Sun City) by the SAPS until the men, who had got hold of a firearm, managed to flee.

The SAPS confirmed that all the men were at large and that an intense investigation was under way.

A source linked to the investigation, said that two police officers at the court were ordered to lie on the ground by the armed prisoners, before the officers’ own firearms were wrested from them.

The source expressed shock over the incident, especially because it happened just when the court was expected to be closed for the day.

“Apparently they had a gun and pointed it at the policemen on duty and then ran away, just as they were about to be escorted to the prison,” he said.

Gauteng SAPS spokesperson Captain Kay Makhubele said: “We understand that one of the trial inmates had a firearm that he pointed at the police officers. The other prisoners pushed open the door (to the courthouse) and ran away.

“We don’t know at the moment what charges they were facing, but they appeared in court on Wednesday,” he said.

“Part of our investigation will be on the circumstances surrounding the escape, in terms of what happened and how many people were there. A case has been opened,” said Makhubele.

The inmates are armed and considered extremely dangerous.

“We believe that they can be dangerous to the community and anyone with information on the whereabouts of the suspects should not try to apprehend them but to inform the police immediately,” said Makhubele.

No injuries were reported, he added.

The Department of Justice had not responded to queries on the charges the prisoners faced at the time of publication.