LOCAL

An average of 48 prisoners escape from SA prisons each year.

In a written reply to a question in the National Assembly, justice and correctional services minister Ronald Lamola said 285 prisoners escaped from custody over the past six financial years — from 2017/2018 to 2022/2023.

Twenty unsentenced inmates remained at large as at April 30 this year out of 146 who escaped. The others were rearrested. Nationally, about 139 sentenced prisoners escaped, with 100 of them rearrested and 39 still at large.

Escaped / At large

• Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West 37 / 16
• Gauteng 26 / 13
• KwaZulu-Natal 16 / 5
• Free State, Northern Cape 20 /3
• Eastern Cape 22 / 1
• Western Cape 18 /1

“Escapes are reported to the SA Police Service (SAPS) and criminal cases are opened against the perpetrators. SAPS track and tracing unit, together with the DCS EST (emergency support teams), conduct manhunt and search operations,” Lamola said.