Man escapes from Harare prison

By Victor Maphosa

The Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service (ZPCS) has reported a prisoner who escaped from Harare Remand Prison on Saturday evening.

Peter Muchenga, who was arrested for aggravated indecent assault, escaped in full view of prison warders and his whereabouts are still unknown.

Muchenga escaped at around 6.30pm

“When inmates were locked up and the number in the yard could not tally with the one on the board, two recounts were done but there was no change. Officers and B Class inmates carried out a search within the prison,” reads a ZPCS communique.

“At around 20:00hrs, officers who were at the D Class section saw the inmate on the top of the prison roof where there are water tanks.

“The officers looked for a ladder in order to access the place where the inmate was lodged but he bolted to the other end of the building where he used an electricity cord to climb down the wall,” said ZPCS.

The inmate is said to have landed on the ground before climbing over the security wall which separates Harare Remand Prison from Harare Central Prison.

“When officers arrived from the top of the building, they found the inmate already on the pre-cast concrete wall and moving towards the workshops. Three warning shots were fired but could not stop the inmate who jumped from the wall into the workshop yards. A search was carried out in the workshop but the inmate could not be located. The matter was reported to the police under case number IR 121480.” The Herald.