A prisoner serving a 20-year sentence has escaped from Rooigrond Maximum Correctional Centre in the North West while already facing a charge relating to a previous escape.

Edward Khomotso Madiba broke out of prison on Sunday. The Department of Correctional Services said preliminary information indicated that he cut through the burglar-bar door in the single-cell section where he was being held.

Madiba is serving a sentence for robbery with aggravating circumstances, possession of a firearm and ammunition, kidnapping, and parole violations. The department has mobilised its security personnel and other law enforcement agencies to find him.

Eight officials have received notices that the department is considering suspending them. An investigation will examine how the escape occurred, whether security procedures were breached, and whether negligence contributed to the incident. The notices do not establish that the officials were responsible.

The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union has blamed deteriorating infrastructure on the escape. Its North West provincial secretary, Johannes Dire, said the prison dates back to the apartheid era and had gone without refurbishment for many years. The department’s investigation has yet to establish the cause of the security failure.

Correctional Services has asked anyone with information about Madiba’s whereabouts to alert law enforcement immediately.