Parliamentarians on Friday welcomed Thursday’s arrest of two prison warders for allegedly helping 16 inmates escape from Johannesburg Correctional Centre almost two weeks ago.
Three other officials have also been suspended, pending an internal investigation.
The arrested officials have since been granted bail of R5 000 each and are due to appear in court on 3 May.
“We welcome the arrests, as it shows police and crime intelligence are hard at work in ensuring culprits will not go unpunished,” said Mathole Motshekga, chairman of Parliament’s portfolio committee on justice and correctional services.
“The committee was gravely concerned with the recent spate of escapes because the safety of the South African public is paramount.”
On Thursday, the committee heard that 10 of the escapees were still at large.
Last week, two inmates were killed following a shootout with police. Another four have been rearrested.
The 16 escapees, most of them jailed for rape, robbery and murder, broke through a wall inside the prison before escaping.
The jailbreak followed another daring escape from Pollsmoor Prison in Cape Town last month.
In this case, all six inmates were rearrested.
DCS Gauteng Regional Commissioner, Thakane Grace Molatedi, expressed disappointment at the officials’ arrest, saying it is against the ethos and mandate of the department.
“DCS will fully cooperate with the investigation by the SAPS to ensure that we leave no stone unturned in getting to the bottom of this escape. Those found guilty will face the full might of the law,” said Molatedi.