The Department of Correctional Services together with the South African Police Service (SAPS) have launched a manhunt for two escaped inmates in KwaZulu-Natal.

According to the department, the two were based at the Nkandla and Vryheid Correctional facilities in that province.

“The escapees are 34-year-old Siyabonga Sikhakhane, serving 16 years imprisonment of which 8 years is suspended for housebreaking and theft. He has been incarcerated at the Nkandla Correctional Centre since 23 March 2022.

“The second escapee is 29-year-old Siphamandla Gift Simelane, serving two years for similar offences of housebreaking and theft. He was admitted at the Vryheid Correctional Centre on 03 October 2023.

“The Emergency Support Team of Correctional Services is working together with the South African Police Service in an effort to rearrest the two. The circumstances under which the two inmates escaped are being investigated as they were both out with the spans (work teams],” the department said.

The department has urged the public to report any sighting of the two to the police.

Source: South African Government News Agency