Armed prisoner escapes from East London court

Police have launched a manhunt for an armed awaiting-trial prisoner who locked a police officer in the holding cells at the East London magistrate's court and fled from the court building in Buffalo Street.

It is unclear how Mcebiso Sondlo, who was arrested on a rape charge in December 2019, managed to get his hands on a firearm while in police custody, but  four defence lawyers and a state prosecutor found themselves staring down the barrel of a gun on Friday morning.

Another man, whose identity DispatchLIVE was unable to establish at the time of writing, was with Sondlo at the time of his escape, but was later apprehended.

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