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The Department of Correctional Services has launched a manhunt for two inmates who escaped from the Ngqeleni Correctional Centre in the Eastern Cape on Freedom Day.
Siyabulela Khohliso is serving a 10-year sentence for rape and Athini Nothi Mzingelwa is serving eight years, also for rape.
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They escaped from the sports field section of the prison on Thursday at about 15:30.
In a statement, the department said additional resources had been deployed to support its emergency team and the police in hunting down the two inmates.
"An investigation into this incident has been launched by the department. But critical at this stage is the re-arrest of the two offenders," it said.
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The department also urged the public to urgently contact their nearest police station if they came into contact with the two escapees.
The prison break is the latest escape following that of convicted murderer and rapist Thabo Bester, who was believed to have died in his Bloemfontein prison cell in May 2022.
However, last month the authorities conceded that Bester had escaped from prison after GroundUp revealed that the body found in the cell was not his. Bester and his partner, Dr Nandipha Magudumana, were arrested in Tanzania earlier this month.
