The third inmate out of seven who escaped from Makhanda’s Waainek prison last Tuesday was rearrested about 30km from the prison while he was begging for food in a farming community on Sunday.
Trymore Chauke is the latest escapee to be rearrested after he was found begging for food in a farming community of Seven Fountains in Makhanda.
Chauke was part of a group of seven prison inmates who escaped from the correctional facility on Tuesday. His re-arrest brings the total number of people who have been recaptured to three.
Warrant Officer Majola Nkohli, the police spokesperson said police were urging communities to continue alerting them about any suspicious persons in their neighbourhoods in order to ensure that the four remaining prison escapees are rearrested.
Seven Fountains community leader and member of the community police forum Zola Mjuda said the community rounded up the man and called the police.
He added that residents grew suspicious after seeing the man near Narrow Farm and immediately suspected he was one of the escapees.
“We quickly assembled a team of strong men and placed this man under citizen arrest. We then took pictures of him and sent them to the police to confirm if it was really him. After they positively identified him, we waited for an hour for police to arrive and take him away.”
Mjuda said Chauke was weak and did not resist arrest: “He cooperated. He did not give us a tough time at all.”
He added that the community was on high alert on Sunday after herd boys searching for claves said they saw a man hiding in the bushes along a dirty road near Narrow Farm.
“The boys told their parents, and a meeting was called about a possible escapee hiding in the area. We selected a team of men to be on standby,” said Mjuda.
Bennet Kwarrie and Simba Masinga were rearrested last week on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively.
Source: News24, The Citizen, The South African, image from Twitter: @UpdateAtNoon