It is truly bizarre that one of South Africa's most dangerous prisoners has escaped, yet again, from C-Max in Pretoria.

It is truly bizarre that one of South Africa's most dangerous prisoners has escaped, yet again, from C-Max in Pretoria.

Ananias Mathe escaped from his cell by sawing the bars and easing his way through tiny windows. There are some worrying trends about prisons in South Africa. These include widespread corruption, theft, racketeering, special privileges and helping criminals to escape.

In Mathe's escape some questions need to be answered. How did such a dangerous felon get hold of a hacksaw blade without prison officials knowing about it? Why weren't his visitors screened when it was smuggled into the prison? How could warders not have known that he was sawing through the bars, which reportedly took several weeks to do?

In a corruption-free South Africa this would not have happened. Upright, law-abiding citizens must demand an overhaul of all innately diseased institutions. If a man truly values his employment, why shake the foundations and resort to dastardly criminal behaviour? Is corruption so endemic that nothing else matters? Are we, as disparate entities united by democracy, especially susceptible to illicit dealings?

If there is a problem, surely there is a solution. In this case, the inquest must result in an expedited dismissal of those corrupt officials.

Brett Chatz, Houghton