Krejcir in high-security jail after daring ‘escape plot’
CZECH fugitive Radovan Krejcir was hurriedly moved to South Africa’s most secure prison last month as authorities uncovered yet another audacious escape plot – this one involving “SAPS items” left for him in a court holding cell.
Krejcir – a convicted criminal facing a slew of charges in various Gauteng courts – was in the Pietermaritzburg High Court last week to complain about inhumane conditions at Kokstad’s super-maximum security eBongweni C-Max prison‚ where he has been since June 23.
While not the first time he had been inside eBongweni‚ Krejcir claimed the most recent transfer, from Pretoria’s Kgosi Mampuru II prison, was because of political meddling in an attempt to prevent him from getting adequate legal counsel and to delay his cases.
Krejcir was convicted in 2015 of attempted murder‚ kidnapping and dealing in drugs.
That matter related to the kidnapping and torture of Bheki Lukhele‚ whose brother‚ Doctor‚ had allegedly disappeared with 25kg of tik.
Krejcir said he did not belong in eBongweni‚ where “unstable and violent prisoners are sent” – and that there was no record of any misbehaviour by him.
In his affidavit‚ Krejcir said being in Kokstad was unnecessary‚ impractical and an unnecessary waste of time. “I’m not violent. I am not aggressive and my move to Kokstad is simply an abuse of power.”
However, a Correctional Services Department official said the move had been necessitated by a breach in security.
Details of the breach were not provided in court. Sifiso Mabuza, of the department, said in response to Krejcir’s affidavit, that it was due to the sensitive nature of the investigation.
But The Times had established – through well-placed sources – that the breach was yet another escape attempt.
“Krejcir had corrupted some officials‚” one source alleged.
“He’s always trying something.”
The attempted escape was to have taken place during one of Krejcir’s court appearances last month, the source said.
“Those ‘SAPS items’ were to have been left in a court cell that Krejcir would have been held in,” he said. The items‚ it is understood, included police-branded clothing that would have been used – with the alleged assistance of bribed officers – to get him to safety.
Police spokesman Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo said Krejcir was locked up in a facility appropriate to his threat level.
Krejcir is facing charges relating to the previous escape attempts.
He asked if he could at least Skype his family if he could not move.