Four robbery convicts who escaped from the hands of prison officers while in transit to Chichiri Prison in Blantyre on Friday after a court session at Darton Road Magistrate’s Court in Limbe are still at large.

The convicts made their way to freedom after allegedly stabbing two prison officers with a knife before jumping from the moving vehicle.

Confirming the development in an interview yesterday, national prisons spokesperson Chimwemwe Shaba said efforts are still in progress to recapture the escapees.

Shaba: It happened around 4pm

“It happened around 4pm. One of the suspects sprayed pepper into the eyes of one of the officers on escort; two other officers were stabbed with a knife on the neck and stomach. The injured officers were on Sunday discharged from Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital where they were receiving treatment,” he said.

There were five convicts in the vehicle, a Toyota Land Cruiser registration MP 2350. All of them were on trial for robbery cases.

The four have been identified as Isaac Mpinga, a robbery convict who is also answering a case of kidnapping, Charles Magalasi, sentenced to eight years for robbery and burglary, Innocent Benjamin, sentenced to 10 years for robbery and Enock Sailesi, sentenced to 10 years for robbery.

Another convict in the vehicle, Emmanuel Amos Monya has been arrested and is now at Chichiri Prison.

The country has registered a series of cases of suspects and convicts escaping from lawful custody.

Last month, four suspects answering murder and robbery charges escaped from Mzuzu Police Station.

Last year, Malawi Prison Service reported that 150 prisoners escaped from the country’s jails and only 34 were recaptured in the past five years.

The situation has not spared the police, where over 30 incidences of suspects, some of whom answering serious charges such as defilement, rape and robbery, escaped from custody between January 2020 and June 2021.

The country’s prison population fluctuates between 11 000 and 13 000.

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