Online Reporter
Danisa Masuku, [email protected]
A ZIMBABWE Prisons and Correctional Service (ZPCS) officer allegedly helped convicted rapist and prison escapee Mike Cabangani Mathe flee from Plumtree Prison to settle a US$2 000 debt he owed the inmate, the court heard yesterday.
Bulawayo regional magistrate Mr Taurai Manuwere heard this when Yusufu Yusufu (47), a ZPCS officer at Khami Prisons, appeared before him facing a charge of facilitating an escape from lawful custody.
Testifying for the State, Mathe told the court that he had lent Yusufu US$2 000 in 2024 after the prison officer sought financial assistance to complete the construction of his house.
“The accused asked for US$3 000, but I managed to lend him US$2 000 with 20 percent interest. At month-end he would pay the interest. In February 2025, I got arrested and hired a lawyer until my money ran out,” Mathe testified.
He said after exhausting his funds on legal fees, he approached Yusufu seeking financial assistance.
“Yusufu told me about the ill-treatment I was subjected to in prison and said more cases were being reported against me. He told me that I should not go through the court processes. He told me that to settle the US$2 000 I had lent him, he would help me escape from prison and asked me to top up with US$300,” Mathe said.
“He told me that he would bring two hacksaw blades and he brought them.”
Mathe told the court that, acting on Yusufu’s instructions, he gradually cut through the burglar bars of his prison cell over four days.
“I would randomly ask one or two inmates to sit by the door to look out for anyone coming to the cells and, as I was advised by Yusufu, I cut the burglar bars in the morning and it took almost four days,” he said.
Mathe added that he had enjoyed a good relationship with the prison officer.
“I did not want to get him arrested, but the situation compelled me to tell the court the truth,” he said.
During cross-examination by defence lawyer Mr Stanley Chinyanganyanga, Mathe conceded that he had no documentary proof or written record of the alleged US$2 000 loan.
The matter was remanded to July 22 for continuation of trial.
Prosecuting, Ms Mufaro Ndirayire told the court that Mathe, who was serving a 20-year prison sentence at Plumtree Prison under prison number 25625, escaped from lawful custody at about 2am on November 15 last year.
At the time, Mathe was also facing other charges, including murder, having sexual intercourse with a young person and physical abuse.
“On November 15 last year at around 2am, Mathe escaped from Plumtree Prison by cutting the burglar bars of his holding cell window using two hacksaw blades supplied by the accused,” said Ms Ndirayire.
The court heard that Mathe fled the prison after cutting the burglar bars, leaving behind the two hacksaw blades allegedly used during the escape. The prosecution intends to produce the blades as exhibits.
Following the jailbreak, Mathe allegedly crossed into Malawi, where he disguised himself as a street vendor while evading capture.
His freedom ended when Malawian authorities arrested him after he failed to produce valid identification documents and was found to have entered the country illegally.
He was deported to Zimbabwe on February 24 and was immediately arrested by Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Homicide detectives upon arrival at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport.
Mathe later appeared before Bulawayo regional magistrate Mr Mathew Mutiro, who convicted him of escaping from lawful custody and sentenced him to six years’ imprisonment.
