MAKHADO – The dangerous Oupa Makhokha, who escaped two days after being arrested last week, has been taken into custody again.

On November 28, Makhokha and an accomplice allegedly hijacked a bakkie in Polokwane and killed the owner, the 57-year-old Pieter du Plessis.

They were spotted in Makhado the day thereafter and were arrested by the Vhembe Flying Squad after a high-speed car chase. Makhokha and five other trial-awaiting prisoners made a daring escape from the police cells in Thohoyandou on Wednesday, December 1, after one of the pris-oners allegedly feigned an asthma attack. Police officers rushed to help him, after which all six escapees overpowered the officers and fled.

On December 4, the spokesperson of the police in the Vhembe-area, Capt Ailwei Mushavhanamadi, ap-pealed to the public via the radio to be vigilant and to aid in the search for Makhokha and the other five prisoners. He gave a detailed description of Makhokha.

At the precise moment of Mushavhanamadi’s radio broadcast, Mak-hokha and two of the prisoners were on their way from Thohoyandou to Mpephu in a bus. A female passenger on the same bus recognized Makhokha from the description and decided to act. When the bus stopped to give passengers the chance to board minibus taxis, the woman alighted with Makhokha and his companions. While they boarded a minibus, she contacted the police on her cellphone. A plainclothes detective arrived on the scene and requested the taxi driver to drive to the police station at Siloam. Without Makhokha’s knowledge, the driver proceeded to do so.

Makhokha and the other two fugitives sensed something was wrong when the taxi ar-rived at the police sta-tion. They forced the driver to stop the taxi, kicked open the door and ran away. Unfortunately for them, the police were waiting for them and arrested Makhokha’s ac-complices within meters from the police station.

Makhokha initially managed to evade the police again. He ran into a house and tried to hide in a water container. This ploy did not throw the police off course and they managed to take a soaked Makhoka back to the police station.

Meanwhile, Capt Mushavhanamadi confirmed that the other three prisoners who es-caped with Makhoka are still being sought by the police.

Makhokha and his brother, Lucky (36), were arrested following the murder of a police officer at Zamekomste in May 2003. While waiting for judgement in the case, they appeared on another lesser charge and were wrongly given bail on October 22. They paid the bail and disappeared. Lucky was also caught following Makhokha’s arrest on Monday, November 29.