C-Max 'Houdini' in court
2007-01-16 08:02
Johannesburg - Annanias Mathe, who escaped from the high-security C-Max prison in Pretoria last year, will appear in Pretoria magistrate's court on Tuesday, SABC news reported.
He is to face a charge relating to his escape in November.
Mathe, who has been described as the country's most notorious prisoner, is facing more than 50 other charges, including rape, robbery, attempted murder and hijacking.
He is believed to be connected to a criminal syndicate operating between South Africa and Mozambique.
Exactly how he escaped from C-Max has not been revealed by prison authorities.
Early reports said Mathe broke two steel bars from his bed which he wedged on either side of the window to help him slide his shoulders through, using Vaseline to slip through more easily - and earning him the nickname Houdini.
He apparently took another steel pipe from his bed and made a hook. He then tied his clothes and bed linen to it and used that to slide out of the cell down a firewall.
But other reports claimed that Annanias Mathe actually walked out of prison after paying warders an R80 000 bribe.
In December, Correctional Services Minister Ngconde Balfour said several prison officials suspected of helping Mathe were on suspension pending an outcome of an investigation.
- SAPA