A CONVICTED kidnapper and rapist is on the loose.
This comes after he assaulted an officer during a hospital visit.
Offender Clatta Gumbo escaped on Monday, 12 February from the grounds of Mamelodi Regional Hospital in Tshwane.
He was taken to the hospital for consultation with a dietitian.
Prison break
The Department of Correctional Service confirmed the escape and said its conducting a large-scale search for the prisoner's whereabouts along with other law enforcement agencies.
Singabakho Nxumalo, the Correctional Services spokesman: "He was being escorted to the hospital for a consultation with a dietician when he attacked the guard, disarmed him and escaped from the hospital.
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"Immediate action was taken to launch a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the escape."
Clatta was admitted as an offender on 28 August 2018 and is serving a life sentence for rape, kidnapping and assault at the Baviaanspoort Correctional Centre in Tshwane.
Nxumalo said if anyone spots Gumbo, they should report him to the nearest correctional centre or police station.
"We urge the public to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity to law enforcement agencies. Public safety is our top priority, and we will do everything we can to re-arrest Gumbo," he said.
Wanted suspect in a shoot-out
Meanwhile, in Gauteng, the most wanted suspect was shot and killed in a shoot-out with the police in Olivenhoutbosch on Sunday, 11 February and his two other accomplices were arrested.
According to Gauteng police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Mavela Masondo, this is the same suspect who is wanted for the attempted murder of two police officers, cash-in-transit thefts, ATM bombs and murders.
Masondo said preliminary investigations revealed that all three suspects were linked to the ATM bombings that recently took place in Soweto.
To date two firearms and two vehicles were seized.
