Online Reporter
Gibson Mhaka and Ronald Mpofu
THE chilling truth behind how notorious Plumtree fugitive Cabangani Mike Mathe pulled off his daring prison escape, and how he was eventually tracked down, has begun to surface.
It paints a picture of betrayal, greed and arrogance that ultimately led to his downfall.
Mathe, a 38-year-old former businessman from Plumtree, stunned the nation when he escaped from lawful custody on November 15,last year.
He was serving a 20-year sentence for rape.
His flight triggered an intense manhunt involving gunfire, roadblocks and even drones hovering over border communities.
Before his escape, Mathe had been sentenced to 20 years in prison after being convicted of raping a female employee in a brutal attack.
Court records show that he forced the woman into icy water, repeatedly dunked her until she lost consciousness, raped her and then ordered her to return to work the next morning as if nothing had happened.
At the time of his escape, Mathe had served only eight months of that sentence.
He also has other serious cases pending before the courts, including charges of physical abuse, rape and a looming murder trial, making his escape a major threat to public safety in the border town.
Now, following his re-arrest and deportation from Malawi, investigations have revealed that his so-called Great Escape was allegedly bought and paid for through a corrupt deal with a prison officer.
A Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services officer, stationed at Plumtree Prison, Yusufu Yusufu (47), has appeared before Plumtree magistrate Joshua Nembaware, facing charges of assisting a prisoner to escape.
He was not asked to plead and was remanded to March 20 on US$100 bail.
He is represented by Thutho Mavula while Sheila Nyathi appeared for the State.
According to the State, Yusufu and Mathe allegedly hatched an escape plan while Mathe was behind bars.
The plot allegedly stemmed from a financial dispute.
Mathe told investigators that before his incarceration he had lent Yusufu US$2,000, with the expectation of a 40 percent profit return.
When Mathe was jailed before the debt was settled, he allegedly demanded repayment to fund legal bills
Unable or unwilling to pay back the money, Yusufu allegedly proposed an alternative.
He would help Mathe escape for an additional fee.
Mathe allegedly paid US$300 from the money he had secretly hidden in prison.
Yusufu is accused of allegedly supplying Mathe with two hacksaw blades and advising him about how to cut through burglar bars in his cell window without raising suspicion.
Over five days, Mathe allegedly cut through three bars while pretending to clean his cell.
In the early hours between of November 15, Mathe squeezed through the opening, cut through a razor-wired fence near the dog yard and vanished into the night, leaving behind the hacksaw blades and severed bars.
What followed was chaos in Plumtree.
Police mounted an aggressive search as Mathe moved between bushes, relatives’ homes and mountains, evading capture even as officers opened fire and drones circled overhead. He later hitched rides through Bulawayo and Harare before boarding a bus to Malawi.
But while Mathe believed he had escaped justice, even shaving his trademark dreadlocks, sources close to the investigations allege his own recklessness exposed him.
While hiding in Malawi, Mathe allegedly began sending threatening WhatsApp voice notes and messages to people in Plumtree, using a Malawian phone number +265991536675. According to screenshots and audio recordings in B Metro’s possession, Mathe demanded repayment of debts as small as US$10, threatening to “visit the victims” if they failed to pay.
He is also alleged to have called some of his rape victims using private numbers, laughing silently on the line. One victim said she immediately recognised his voice.
“I received a call from a private number three days after he escaped,” said the victim.
“He did not speak. He just laughed. I knew it was him. I felt unsafe and terrified.”
Sources say these threats alerted investigators that Mathe was operating from Malawi, narrowing the search.
His run finally ended on Valentine’s Day when Malawian authorities stopped him during a routine check, and he failed to produce identification.
He was deported and arrested by CID Homicide officers at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport.
Mathe appeared before Bulawayo regional magistrate Shingirayi Mutiro and pleaded guilty to escaping from lawful custody.
He was sentenced to six years in prison.
The State was represented by Hazel Ncube.
Police national spokesperson, Paul Nyathi, said the case showed there was no safe haven for criminals.
