Cape Town - The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) is still searching for an escaped prisoner who was among three convicts who broke out of Malmesbury Prison just before the Easter weekend.
Police, with the department and other law enforcement agencies, launched a 72-hour activation plan which led to the arrest of two of the convicts who escaped on Wednesday last week.
DCS spokesperson Candice van Reenen said Juneal Jacobs was still on the run. He was doing time for murder.
“We continue to encourage any sightings or information on Jacobs to be immediately reported, and further wish to remind the community that should they fail to report any contact, they will be deemed as accomplices in the matter. A full investigation into the escape will be instituted in due course,” she said.
DCS acting commissioner Makgothi Thobakgale expressed concern about the escapes, and an escape from Barberton Prison in Mpumalanga, both of which occurred within 24 hours.
Thobakgale said that on April 14, he addressed all DCS provincial commissioners and district commissioners across the country, and reiterated that the situation was unacceptable and should be urgently addressed.
“The safety and well-being of our correctional officials, inmates and citizens cannot be compromised. Procedural security measures such as regular patrols, frequent searches of cells and offenders, searches of visitors and incident management are regulated.
“The applicable procedures spell out the circumstances under which such procedures are to be followed, and the manner in which they are to be conducted,” he said.
Thobakgale confirmed that two of the three prisoners, Alexander Pieters and Riduwaan Herman, had been re-arrested, and a third, Juneal Jacobs, was still at large. He said authorities would continue to search for the inmate.
In the 2020/21 financial year, 94 correctional services officials were dismissed and subjected to disciplinary action, the DCS said.
The department said it was intensifying its campaign and processes to prevent corruption and mismanagement at its facilities across the country.
Last week’s prison break occurred almost a year after 60 inmates escaped from the facility. All the prisoners were recaptured.