Escapee from Pietermaritzburg prison rearrested in Gauteng
The Department of Correctional Services has confirmed the re-arrest of escaped offender, Thulani Gcaleka, who escaped from Sevontein Correctional Centre in Pietermaritzburg last month.
He was recaptured in Gauteng on Tuesday.
At the time of the escape, Gcaleka was serving a life sentence for attempted murder, rape, robbery, and housebreaking.
He was part of a cleaning work team assigned to duties at the prison farm when he escaped.
Gcaleka will now face additional criminal charges for escaping from lawful custody.
"Internally, he will be reclassified to a higher security category and transferred to a maximum-security correctional facility," the department said in a statement
"The Department confirms that disciplinary processes related to the circumstances surrounding the escape are ongoing, to ensure that appropriate action is taken against those found to have been negligent or complicit."
In 2024, another prisoner, Dumisani Mthethwa, was rearrested after escaping from custody while doing garden work in Utrecht, KwaZulu-Natal.
