An attempted escape by a prisoner about to appear in the East London Magistrate’s Court this week was thwarted when he fell off the court’s rooftop and broke his arm and hurt his leg.
In a painful irony, escapee Sihle Ncanywa, who is in his 20s, was expecting to face a charge of robbery in Court A on Wednesday afternoon, but court officials told the Dispatch they were about to withdraw the charges.
According to court officials, who asked to remain anonymous as they were not mandated to speak to the media, Ncanywa was apprehended after he injured himself while trying to jump from the court’s rooftop.
The sources said his daring escape attempt came just moments before his robbery case was to be withdrawn, a move he was not yet aware of at the time.
This was confirmed yesterday by the court’s manager, Burning Chipps who said the incident was brought to his attention yesterday morning.
“Yes I am aware of such an incident after I was informed about it by some court officials.
“At this moment we are still busy investigating the matter. Thus we cannot give you more details on the circumstances surrounding the attempted escape,” was all he said.
East London police spokeswoman Warrant Officer Hazel Mqala yesterday said she was not aware of such an incident as it has not yet been brought to her attention.
The court officials who spoke to the Dispatch said Ncanywa sneaked out of Court A and entered a nearby waiting room where he slipped out of a window and climbed the wall onto the court roof.
This is when court orderlies became aware of his escape attempt and immediately raised the alarm and gave chase.
“When he saw that police and other court officials were hot on his heels he jumped from the rooftop, breaking his arm and injuring his leg, rendering him unable to run any further.
“He was arrested and is now facing charges of trying to escape from custody,” said a court official.
Another official said police were alerted by people who were sitting at the Court A waiting room when Ncanywa climbed the window and exited the court building.
“Those people, mostly women, who were seated in that waiting room, raised the alarm and informed police that someone had just sneaked out of a window and climbed onto the rooftop,” another source said.
The Dispatch was in a nearby court room when the incident took place.
Proceedings in other courts were briefly interrupted by the commotion taking place in nearby corridors as people screamed and shouted to police, showing them where Ncanywa had exited the court building.
Court orderlies closed their courtroom doors as the bedlam created by the noisy chase was drowning out the recording systems. — asandan@dispatch.co.za
Painful end to desperate escape bid
In a painful irony, escapee Sihle Ncanywa, who is in his 20s, was expecting to face a charge of robbery in Court A on Wednesday afternoon, but court officials told the Dispatch they were about to withdraw the charges.
According to court officials, who asked to remain anonymous as they were not mandated to speak to the media, Ncanywa was apprehended after he injured himself while trying to jump from the court’s rooftop.
The sources said his daring escape attempt came just moments before his robbery case was to be withdrawn, a move he was not yet aware of at the time.
This was confirmed yesterday by the court’s manager, Burning Chipps who said the incident was brought to his attention yesterday morning.
“Yes I am aware of such an incident after I was informed about it by some court officials.
“At this moment we are still busy investigating the matter. Thus we cannot give you more details on the circumstances surrounding the attempted escape,” was all he said.
East London police spokeswoman Warrant Officer Hazel Mqala yesterday said she was not aware of such an incident as it has not yet been brought to her attention.
The court officials who spoke to the Dispatch said Ncanywa sneaked out of Court A and entered a nearby waiting room where he slipped out of a window and climbed the wall onto the court roof.
This is when court orderlies became aware of his escape attempt and immediately raised the alarm and gave chase.
“When he saw that police and other court officials were hot on his heels he jumped from the rooftop, breaking his arm and injuring his leg, rendering him unable to run any further.
“He was arrested and is now facing charges of trying to escape from custody,” said a court official.
Another official said police were alerted by people who were sitting at the Court A waiting room when Ncanywa climbed the window and exited the court building.
“Those people, mostly women, who were seated in that waiting room, raised the alarm and informed police that someone had just sneaked out of a window and climbed onto the rooftop,” another source said.
The Dispatch was in a nearby court room when the incident took place.
Proceedings in other courts were briefly interrupted by the commotion taking place in nearby corridors as people screamed and shouted to police, showing them where Ncanywa had exited the court building.
Court orderlies closed their courtroom doors as the bedlam created by the noisy chase was drowning out the recording systems. — asandan@dispatch.co.za
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