Convict breaks out of prison in car boot

A ROBBERY convict escaped from Mutimurefu Prison in Masvingo after hiding in the boot of a prison officers' vehicle, The Chronicle heard yesterday.

The prison officer has reportedly been arrested following the jail-break on Tuesday.

Kudakwashe Nyashanu, 24, who started serving a six-year sentence at the prison last year, allegedly took advantage of a security lapse to pop into the boot.

Officer Shepherd Chimhara, 40, drove out of the premises without his vehicle being searched.

"Some prison officers received a tip-off from some inmates who had seen Nyashanu getting into Chimhara's car," sources close to the investigation told The Chronicle.

The prison was placed under lockdown at around 3PM and officers failed to locate Nyashanu. "Chimhara has since been arrested on allegations of assisting Nyashanu to escape from custody and is expected to appear in court soon," said the source.

Nyashanu, the source said, escaped when inmates had been released from their cells to work within the prison complex. He was still unaccounted for yesterday.

"He was working with other inmates when he secretly got into the boot of Chimhara's vehicle. It isn't known whether it was a pre-planned deal between the inmate and Chimhara," said our source.

Authorities at the prison found it suspicious that Chimhara seemed to distract guards at the gates and eventually left without his vehicle being searched.

Acting Gweru and Masvingo Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) spokesperson Senior Prisons Officer (SPO) Stanford Sanike promised to comment but had not done so by the time of going to print after requesting written questions.