Africa-Press – Mozambique. Nine prisoners escaped last Thursday, while they were being transferred from one prison to another in the central Mozambican province of Sofala.
According to a report on the independent television station, STV, 15 prisoners, who were serving sentences of up to three years in Beira central prison, were transferred, in a prison vehicle, to the Tica Open Centre, in Nhamatanda district, a distance of about 80 kilometres.
When it was 19.00, and the vehicle was less than five kilometres from its destination, the prisoners supposedly forced open the door. The vehicle was travelling slowly, along a dirt road full of potholes.
Before the driver could bring the car to a standstill, nine of the prisoners had jumped out and made their getaway. The other six chose to stay in the vehicle.
The trip from Beira to Tica broke the rules for the transfer of prisoners, who should always be guarded by a specialist team. But this time, the 15 prisoners were accompanied by just one guard plus the driver. Furthermore, prisoner transfer should never take place at night.
The fact that these rules were violated has led to suspicion that some of the prison guards collaborated in the escape.
The management of Beira Central Prison has so far kept quiet about the circumstances of the escape, and has not announced what measures, if any, are being taken against the guard and the driver.
Photographs of eight of the nine escaped prisoners have been distributed in and around Tica, and the justice authorities have asked members of the public to cooperate in their recapture.
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