By Thokozani Mtshali
Curious South Africans wanting to know how one of the country's most dangerous criminals managed to escape from the security tight C-Max prison will have to wait at least another month.
This comes after the postponement of a briefing by Correctional Services Minister Ngconde Balfour to parliament's portfolio committee on correctional services about Annanais Mathe's escape. The briefing was set for the end of this month but has now been postponed to February 20th to allow investigators to compile their report.
The report according to correctional services portfolio committee chairperson Dennis Bloem, is also expected to shed light on the alleged involvement of eight correctional services officials in aiding Mathe's escape.
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The first prisoner to escape from C-Max in its 36-year history The eight were suspended shortly after Mathe was recaptured in Tembisa, east of Johannesburg towards the end of last year as he tried to flee in a stolen car.
Both the portfolio committee and the select committee on correctional services visited the C-Max last Thursday and according to Bloem, it was still a big mystery how Mathe found his way out of the prison.
Bloem said Balfour's appearance before the committee was postponed after the committee felt it would be pointless for him to come without the report. Mathe, who faces numerous counts of armed robbery, theft and rape, became the first prisoner to escape from C-Max in its 36-year history.
This was one of the reasons the public dismissed the initial explanations that Mathe had smeared himself with vaseline for him to slip through the prison windows.
His escape prompted a massive manhunt as authorities feared he might flee to his country of origin, Mozambique. The police were also concerned at his ability to play hide and seek with the law after it took police about nine months to recapture him after his first escape from prison in 2005.
Balfour's spokesperson Luphumzo Kebeni said Balfour was assured that the compilation of the report would be complete before his scheduled appearance before the committee next month.
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This article was originally published on page 8 of Daily News on January 30, 2007
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