This is how many prisoners have broken out of South African jails in recent years ...
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A total of 21 prisoners escaped from the country’s prisons during the 2021/2022 financial year, the department of justice said on Wednesday.
The majority of them (12) had been rearrested.
The department released these figures a day after four inmates escaped from the Rooigrond Correctional Services facility in the North West on Tuesday.
They have not been rearrested.
Department spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo would not be immediately drawn into commenting on how the four escaped from the prison, saying this all formed part of their investigation.
According to figures given to TimesLIVE by the DCS, the number of escapes recorded in this financial year was relatively low in comparison to the 2020/2021 financial year.
During that period, 117 prisoners escaped but 99 were rearrested.
The Western Cape accounted for the majority of the prison breaks with 75 recorded in that financial year. All 75 of them were rearrested.
The four escapees who fled from Rooigrond were named as: Zacharia Francisco Nyalimate, a Mozambican serving a 27-year sentence for housebreaking and murder; Alfred Gwambe, a Mozambican serving 65 years for housebreaking, theft and possession of a stolen vehicle; Siyabonga Sithole, a South African serving a life sentence for rape, theft and housebreaking; and Edward Madiba, a South African serving 15 years for robbery and possession of a firearm.