Murderer, armed robber, burglar in daring prison escape

A murderer, an armed robber and a burglar escaped from Karoi Prison on Friday but two of them were immediately re-arrested with the help of members of the public, it emerged yesterday.

The three - Cover Warasi, Confidence Mutemachani and Anyway Mutukura - reportedly escaped in the early hours of Friday.

But luck ran out for Warasi, who was serving a murder sentence when he was re-arrested after a tip off from residents at a nearby farm.

"He was arrested at a nearby farm stark-naked after dumping his prison garb when they made their way out," said a source.

Mutemachani, an armed robbery convict, was also arrested yesterday morning at Corner Store along the Harare-Chirundu highway.

Mutukura, who was serving a sentence for unlawful entry, is still at large.

Zimbabwe Prison and Correctional Services acting public relations officer, Priscilla Mthembo confirmed the incident and thanked members of the public for their cooperation.

"Yes, I can confirm that we recorded three escapees at Karoi Prison but so far two of them have been re-arrested," she said.

"I would like to applaud members of the public for helping in the re-arrest.

"We would also like to warn the public to be very careful when dealing with such people since they are dangerous criminals."

It is suspected that after escaping from their cell, the prisoners scaled up the security fence before disappearing into the nearby bushes surrounding the prison situated 5km from Karoi town.

The jailbirds left behind their prison garb, including green shorts and red and white stripped jerseys before they ran away.

"We suspect that they removed bricks on the wall during the night and as usual, they were singing praise songs, making it impossible for officers on duty to suspect anything," said a prison source.

Mthembo said investigations were still in progress to establish how the prisoners had escaped.

According to some sources, there were four prisoners living in one of the condemned cells. However, the fourth prisoner is suspected to be a mental patient and was left behind when the trio made their way out by peeling off old walls to make a hole.

Most prisons in the country are now dilapidated with poor ventilation while acute food shortages have hit those serving time in jails for various crimes.