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Three prison escapees still at large

TWO awaiting-trial prisoners and one convict who staged a dramatic escape from the Windhoek Correctional Facility toward the end of November, are still at large.

This was confirmed by senior police spokesperson deputy commissioner Edwin Kanguatjivi, who issued a media statement requesting assistance from members of the public in locating the three escapees.

Melvin Raymond Hanse, Sindano Pieter Itana and Marius Thomas escaped from prison on 26 November – allegedly with the assistance of members of the police’s VIP protection unit.

Thomas was in June found guilty in the High Court of six charges, including murder, rape, kidnapping and robbery.

Itana still faces a charge of theft, while Hanse in on trial on charges of murder and rape.

Police Inspector General Sebastian Ndeitunga was quoted earlier as saying that three police officers had allegedly assisted with the prisoners’ escape from the correctional facility.

Two of the police officers have since been arrested – one was arrested in Windhoek’s central business district, while the other one was nabbed at Katima Mulilo in the Zambezi region.

The three police officers arrived at the Windhoek Correctional Facility at around 11h00, requesting to be handed three inmates to be charged for new cases at Rundu, where the police officers were apparently based.

Hence, as per the usual practice, the officers were handed Thomas and the two trial-awaiting inmates, and they left the facility.

It was, however, later discovered that the three police officers were not investigating any case against the three and that they were not from Rundu as they claimed.

The escape happened on the day prison officers detained a 27-year-old woman who had seven mobile phones and chargers she was trying to smuggle into the prison in a suitcase.

Windhoek Correctional Facility deputy commissioner general Tuhafeni Hangula said that when the three police officers appeared at the facility, two of them were dressed in police uniform while one was dressed in civilian clothing. Hangula added that during the festive season many inmates try to escape from the facility.

The public is requested not to attempt to apprehend the three escapees as they may be violent and dangerous.

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