MUTARE – A convicted killer and another prisoner serving 27 years for robbery escaped from Mutimurefu Prison in Masvingo on Saturday, police said.
Police have sent teams with sniffer dogs and drones to track down Tafadzwa Janyure Zimirenyika, 27, who was serving a life sentence for murder and armed robber James Masunda, 34. Both men were due to be transferred to Khami Prison near Bulawayo to serve out their sentences.
The duo reportedly escaped from the prison at around 12.10AM on Saturday.
A prison guard told investigators he saw one of the convicts climbing an outside perimeter fence.
“The guard tried to cock his firearm but it jammed. Informant then alerted his colleagues and checks were made at D class cell and that is when they discovered that two inmates had escaped from the cell,” a police memo on the incident seen by ZimLive said.
“It was also discovered that a burglar door was cut with a sharp object.”
On Sunday, police said they were following up on several leads and had deployed drones to help in the search.
Police are linking a robbery at a tuckshop at nearby Zano in the early hours of Saturday to the two fugitives.
