‘Haunted’ prisoner dies during jailbreak

Nqobile Tshili Chronicle Correspondent
AN inmate at Khami Prison Complex on the outskirts of Bulawayo died after he allegedly fell from a four-metre wall while attempting a jailbreak.

Elliot Mundoza, 27, sources from the prison said, told fellow inmates he was being haunted by the spirit of someone whose educational documents he stole.

An inmate said he suspected Mundoza attempted to escape so that he could return the documents to the person’s family.

He allegedly disappeared during the prison’s head count last Tuesday.

“The prison guards put the whole complex under lockdown and began a frantic but systematic search for him,” said a prison officer.

Mundoza was allegedly later spotted on top of the prison wall.

Prison officer sources said when Mundoza realised he had been seen, he tried to jump but plunged headlong to the ground.

“He suffered serious injuries following his fall. He died while being rushed to a local clinic,” said the source.

A prison guard said Mundoza is suspected to have climbed to the rooftop through a toilet.

“It’s not clear how he managed to climb to the roof top. But it’s suspected he sneaked into the toilet during the headcount period. Somehow he managed to climb from the toilet to the jail wall,” said the source.

It could not be established why Mundoza was in jail.

Bulawayo police spokesperson Inspector Precious Simango said investigations into the death of an inmate who fell from a Khami Prison Complex wall were underway.

She declined to give details.

Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) spokesperson for Matabeleland region, Senior Prison Officer Bothwell Bosha, professed ignorance over the matter.

“I haven’t received anything to that effect but let me find out. You can call me later,” said Bosha.

However, his cellphone was ringing unanswered later on.

The country has not recorded noteworthy jail breaks apart from that of the country’s notorious armed robbers Steven Chidhumo and Edgar Masendeke.

Chidhumo and Masendeke were high profile criminals and managed to escape from Chikurubi maximum prison in the 1990s.

Last year, former leader of End Time Message church, Robert Gumbura, who is serving a 40-year sentence for rape, tried unsuccessfully to escape from the same prison.

No major jail breaks have ever been recorded at Khami Prison Complex, which houses Khami maximum and medium prisons.

The complex is also home to Mlondolozi prison which houses mental patients and female convicts.