Cop killer escapees arrested

Three men have been arrested after an attempted house robbery in Orchards, Joburg.

Three men have been arrested after an attempted house robbery in Orchards, Joburg.

Published Jul 10, 2012

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Johannesburg - Two prisoners who escaped from the Katlehong police cells after strangling a policeman have been re-arrested, Gauteng police said on Tuesday.

Lt-Col Lungelo Dlamini said one of them was in custody in Mozambique and the second was arrested in the Eastern Cape on Saturday.

The first man, a Mozambican, was arrested in his country for an assault he committed there. Dlamini said it was not clear whether he would be extradited for his crimes in South Africa.

The second prisoner appeared in the Alberton Magistrate's Court on Monday on charges of murder, hijacking and escaping prison. He would be back in court on July 1, and remained in custody

The two allegedly strangled Warrant Officer Lennox Phathumzi Latha with a piece of a blanket in Katlehong. Latha was responding to a call from police cells when he was killed on July 1.

They then took the cell's keys, and threw Latha's body into a toilet in the cells. By the time his colleagues realised what had happened, two of the inmates had escaped.

The two escapees were initially arrested on car hijacking charges. - Sapa

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