HARARE, Jan. 13 (NewsDay Live) – A prisoner serving a lengthy sentence for rape and robbery on Tuesday stabbed a prison guard at the Harare Magistrates Court in an attempted escape from custody.
The inmate, identified as Itai Madhongo (45), stabbed the guard in the eye using an unknown object before seizing the officer’s keys for his door and leg irons. He then bolted out of the courtroom and hid in a public toilet within the court premises.
The Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service (ZPCS) sought backup from its SWAT unit, but by the time reinforcements arrived, Madhongo had already been apprehended.
Chaos erupted at the Harare Magistrates Court following the incident, as the inmate allegedly stripped the injured officer of his uniform before disappearing from sight, prompting a security lockdown at the premises.
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Madhongo is currently serving a 27-year prison sentence for rape and robbery after being convicted by Harare magistrate Fadzai Mtombeni.
He was eventually found several hours later hiding behind toilet cubicles and was rearrested by prison officers.
This is the second attempted escape from the courts in under a year. On March 21, last year, two inmates, Luke Zinyengere and Tafadzwa Marondera, attempted to escape while being escorted to a prison truck following a hearing at the court.
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Using a revolver that had been smuggled into their prison cell and concealed in Zinyengere's pants during the court appearance.
Zinyengere brandished the firearm, threatening prison officers and scaled the court's palisade fencing. He then hijacked a car and fled. He was captured three days later in Harare after a manhunt and sentenced to 22 years in prison for the escape and carjacking.
Marondera was apprehended by officers before he could escape.
