Johannesburg - The two men arrested in connection with the brazen attack on two police officers had no one guarding them when they escaped from the Tembisa Magistrate’s Court.
Bafana Ngwenya, 34, Khulani Zungu, 29, and a third accused were arrested after they held two police officers in Rabie Ridge, Ekurhuleni, at gunpoint and locked them in the back of their marked van after they had robbed them of their service pistols.
Gauteng police spokeswoman Colonel Noxolo Kweza said on Thursday that Ngwenya and Zungu were by themselves when they forced open the steel-mesh door in the holding area and escaped.
It was not known how they pulled this off and whether a weapon was used.
Kweza said the orderlies were in court as it was in progress and it was not unusual for suspects to have no one guarding them in the holding area.
She could not say how many suspects were in the area at the time, but Ngwenya and Zungu were the only ones who escaped.
Ngwenya and Zungu were allegedly part of a group of four who held two police officers at gunpoint, disarmed and locked them in the back of their van on November 4.
The officers had parked their van on the side of the road while they ate lunch. The four were arrested immediately after the incident.
Kweza said on Thursday Ngwenya and Zungu and the third co-accused were in court for a bail application.
Their case was postponed and they were taken to the holding area between courts 7 and 8. It was suspected that they escaped between 2pm and 3pm through court 8 after forcing open the steel-mesh door.
EyeWitness News reported on Thursday night that authorities said two policemen were being investigated for allegedly helping them to escape from court.
The Star