Two Zimbabweans who escaped from police custody on Wednesday evening while being transported from Polokwane Central Correctional facility to Mokopane in Limpopo province have been rearrested.
The duo was part of the four armed robbers – three Zimbabweans and one South African – who last Wednesday managed to disarm a police officer and escape.
They were arrested Saturday while the third is still on the run.
The three Zimbabwean nationals are; Clifford Matonhori (31) John Fine (39) Dennis Hove (39) who are Zimbabwean nationals and Figos Madisha, (40).
However, Hove is still on the run.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo said the four hijacked two trucks while on the run. Mojapelo said:
Four suspects fitting the description of the ones who escaped from the police van along the R101 road south of Polokwane allegedly hijacked a truck and later abandoned it at Ysyerberg on the N1 road.
The same suspects allegedly hijacked another truck the next day at Nyl Plaza toll gate and drove it towards Modimolle with the victims inside. The truck hit one of the barricades at Kranskop toll gate and the suspects jumped off and fled into the bushes.
A search operation involving Limpopo highway patrol, the SAPS Airwing, trackers, and community members led to the re-arrest of the men.
Mojapelo said one of the prisoners had shot at the police when he was spotted in the bushes. He added:
Police returned fire and when they searched the area, they found the suspect in a tree and injured. He was immediately arrested. The other two suspects were arrested in the vicinity. A police firearm robbed during the escape was recovered in the bushes.
The four had been arrested and convicted of armed robberies in April 2019 along the N1 road in Belabela, Modimolle, Mookgopong, and Mokopane.
They were scheduled to be sentenced last Friday.
More: Pindula News; News24