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'Houdini': Cops have good leads
21/11/2006 19:19 - (SA)
Johannesburg - Police were following "good leads" on Tuesday on the whereabouts of a prisoner wanted for serial rapes who escaped from Pretoria's C-Max prison, said a spokesperson.
"We haven't found him yet. We are still following leads, but we have good ones," said investigating officer Arnold Boonsthra on Tuesday morning.
The awaiting-trial prisoner, Annanias Mathe, 29, escaped from the country's most-secure prison on Saturday night.
It is believed that the "Houdini" stripped and covered his entire body with petroleum jelly to climb out of a window measuring 20cm x 60cm.
Boonsthra said Mathe appeared to have uncuffed himself, climbed through several small windows after breaking them and forced himself out on to the roof of the prison.
Mathe faced 51 charges, including murder, attempted murder, rape, hijacking and armed robbery.
'Corruption rears its ugly head'
He was detained in A6 section, which houses hardened criminals regarded as escape risks.
The Inkatha Freedom Party blamed corrupt prison officials for the escape.
The party's justice spokesperson, Koos van der Merwe, said: "It is just one more instance where the police do incredible work in apprehending dangerous criminals, but then corruption and mismanagement rears its ugly head and we get this appalling case where a man escapes from the most-secure prison in the country."
"The extremely dangerous escapee was definitely aided in some way and it once again brings to light the deep rooted corruption within the correctional services department."
Van der Merwe said Correctional Services Minister Ngconde Balfour's decision to appoint a team to investigate the prison's management was a step in the right direction.
However, Van der Merwe called on the minister to immediately suspend the head of the prison until the outcome of the investigation was made public.
On Monday, Balfour said the probe into management would include polygraph tests.
"I don't think that any offender can just escape as easily as that from C-Max.
"I know C-Max, I've been there several times. There must be some collusion that took place," said Balfour.
"Nobody can ever just take off handcuffs and saw his way through anything and nobody takes notice of that.
"So, there must be some investigation that's done and people charged for that."
'Inside job'
The SA Prisoners Organisation for Human Rights (Sapohr) also believed that the escape was "an inside job".
"Although we don't have the finer details about how the escape occurred, we can without any fear of contradiction, put our heads on the block and say it was an inside job," said Sapohr president Golden Miles Bhudu.
Boonsthra said police could not comment on the escape until the investigation was completed.
- SAPA
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