By Court Correspondent | ZimEye | Harare Remand Prison inmates who escaped from custody last week were rearrested and brought to court on Wednesday.

Tafadzwa Marondera and Luke Zinyengere appeared separately before magistrate Fadzai Mthombeni.

They are charged with escaping from lawful custody.

Zinyengere has an extra charge of armed robbery.

Prosecutors allege that after escaping from jail he robbed a motorist of a vehicle which he used to get away before dumping it.

Zinyengere however partially pleaded to the allegations.

He said he used a toy gun.

On the other hand, Marondera exonerated prison officer Donald Madzinga, telling court that he was not involved in facilitating their escape.

Madzinga was arrested earlier this week and awaits bail ruling which will be handed down next Tuesday.

According to the State, sometime early this month, the accused person and another inmate facing similar charges applied for bail at the High Court and it was dismissed.

“The accused person looked for an option to escape from prison. In pursuance to their plan, Marondera and Zinyengere approached prison officer Madzinga whom they usually interface with and shared with him their plan in which they needed his assistance to smuggle in for them into Harare Remand Prison.

“This resultantly led Zinyengere’s young brother Tinotenda to bring the revolver concealed in a bowl of rice which the accused accessed and kept in their cell.

“On 21 March 2025, the accused hatched a plan to escape from the lawful custody of prison officials using the revolver which they kept in their prison cell. Accused took the revolver, hid it in the pants and went to Harare Magistrates Court where he appeared in Court 12 together with his accomplice.

“As the accused persons were being escorted back into the prison truck in order to be taken back to Harare Remand Prison, accused and his accomplice sprang up, produced the revolver, threatened prison officers and ran away towards Mother Patrick Road where they scaled over the court’s palisade fencing. Shots were fired from both sides and during the chase, Marondera was tripped down by a prison officer — that is how he got arrested,” the State alleges.

The court heard that Zinyengere managed to escape and robbed Tinashe Chiyamuro of his vehicle and phones and he went away.

He allegedly drove at high speed and drove towards the Kopje area.

The court heard that the vehicle was dumped along Kaguvi Street where Zinyengere almost ran into a spare parts shop, he jumped off and disappeared.

It is further alleged that police managed to take fingerprints from the vehicle and on Monday they received a tip-off that Zinyengere had returned from Mutare and wanted to hire a car at George Bus Stop in Ruwa — that is when he was arrested.

Three other people were arrested in connection with their escape.

Spelile Zinyengere, Obey Rwaendepi and Tinotenda Zinyengere were all granted US$200 bail each by magistrate Isheunesu Matova.