Zim GBC News | Crimes and Courts
PLUMTREE – The dramatic escape and eventual recapture of notorious fugitive Cabangani Mike Mathe has taken a sinister turn, with a Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services officer now appearing in court accused of orchestrating the breakout in exchange for cash.
Mathe, a 38-year-old former businessman from Plumtree, escaped from lawful custody on 15 November 2025 while serving a 20-year sentence for rape. His flight triggered an intensive manhunt involving gunfire, roadblocks, and drones, sending shockwaves through the border community.
Now, following his re-arrest and deportation from Malawi, investigations have revealed that his escape was allegedly bought and paid for through a corrupt deal with a prison officer.
Yusufu Yusufu (47), a prisons officer stationed at Plumtree Prison, appeared before magistrate Joshua Nembaware facing charges of assisting a prisoner to escape. He was not asked to plead and was remanded to 20 March 2026 on US$100 bail. He is represented by Mr Thutho Mavula, while Ms Sheila Nyathi appeared for the State.
According to allegations placed before the court, Yusufu and Mathe hatched the escape plan in 2025 while Mathe was behind bars. The plot allegedly stemmed from a financial dispute. Mathe told investigators that before his incarceration, he had lent Yusufu US$2 000, with the expectation of a 40 percent return. When Mathe was jailed before the debt was settled, he allegedly demanded repayment to fund legal appeals.
Unable or unwilling to pay back the money, Yusufu allegedly proposed an alternative. Instead of settling the debt, he would help Mathe escape – for an additional fee. Mathe allegedly paid a further US$300 from money he had secretly hidden in prison.
Yusufu is accused of supplying Mathe with two hacksaw blades and instructing him on how to cut through burglar bars in his cell window without raising suspicion. Over five days, Mathe allegedly cut through three bars while pretending to clean his cell.
In the early hours of November 15, between 1AM and 2AM, Mathe squeezed through the opening, cut through a razor-wired fence near the dog yard, and vanished into the night.
What followed was chaos in Plumtree. Police mounted an aggressive search as Mathe moved between bushes, relatives’ homes, and mountains, evading capture even as officers opened fire and drones circled overhead. He later hitched rides through Bulawayo and Harare before boarding a bus to Malawi.
But while Mathe believed he had escaped justice, even shaving his trademark dreadlocks, sources close to the investigations allege his own recklessness exposed him. While hiding in Malawi, Mathe allegedly began sending threatening WhatsApp voice notes and messages to people in Plumtree using a Malawian phone number.
According to screenshots and audio recordings in the possession of local media, Mathe demanded repayment of debts as small as US$10, threatening to “visit the victims” if they failed to pay.
He is also alleged to have phoned some of his rape victims using private numbers, laughing silently on the line. One victim described the terrifying experience:
“I received a call from a private number three days after he escaped. He did not speak. He just laughed. I knew it was him. I felt unsafe and terrified.”
Sources say these threats alerted investigators that Mathe was operating from Malawi, narrowing the search.
His run finally ended on 14 February 2026 when Malawian authorities stopped him during a routine check, and he failed to produce identification. Mathe, who now looked significantly older, had started eking out a living selling chicken pieces and vegetables. He was deported and arrested by CID Homicide officers at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport.
Mathe appeared before Bulawayo regional magistrate Shingirayi Mutiro on Thursday, pleaded guilty to escaping from lawful custody, and was sentenced to six years in prison. The State was represented by Ms Hazel Ncube.
Police spokesperson Paul Nyathi confirmed the arrest and said the case showed there was no safe haven for criminals.
Before his escape, Mathe had served only eight months of a 20-year sentence for a brutal rape. Court records show he forced a female employee into icy water, repeatedly dunked her until she lost consciousness, raped her, and then ordered her to return to work the next morning as if nothing had happened.
He also has other serious cases pending, including charges of physical abuse, rape, and a looming murder trial.
For victims who lived in fear while Mathe was on the run, the arrest brought relief. For the prison service, the case has exposed serious internal rot. And for Mathe, whose threats and arrogance betrayed his hiding place, the illusion of being untouchable has finally been shattered.
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