A SECURITY guard from Beitbridge has been slapped with a 24-month jail sentence for escaping from custody, including encouraging a murder suspect to flee from police custody.
BY SILAS NKALA
Kelvin Mlauzi (39) of Dulibadzimo pleaded not guilty to charges of trying to aid a murder suspect to escape from detention and escaping from police custody when he appeared before Beitbridge magistrate Goodswill Mavenge.
The magistrate convicted and sentenced him to 24 months in jail for both counts. Six months of the sentence were conditionally suspended for five years.
According to the prosecutor, Munyonga Kuvarega, Mlauzi was arrested for assault on November 5 last year and was detained in the same cell with Steven Chasaya, a murder suspect.
While in the holding cell, Mlauzi requested that constable Tawanda Lampson Mapa bring him a water bottle he had left in the charge office.
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The court heard that Mlauzi then encouraged Chasaya to escape from lawful custody before using a strip from the water bottle to remove Chasaya’s leg irons.
At around 7pm, Mlauzi heard the holding cells gate being opened and urged Chasaya to escape from custody with him, but he refused.
The convict escaped from the cell with the leg irons concealed under his T-shirt, as Mapa was leading two more suspects into the cells.
On November 6, 2018, Mlauzi was re-arrested leading to the recovery of the leg irons.