‘Houdini’ prisoner greases his way to daring escape

South African police are searching for a slippery prisoner who escaped from a top security jail after smearing himself in Vaseline and squeezing through a tiny window.

Ananias Mathe was detained last December on more than 50 charges of murder, rape, armed robbery and hijacking. He was kept in isolation in Pretoria's C-Max prison, which houses notorious offenders who are considered escape risks.

Police who caught him last year describe him as "the ultimate criminal" who would stop at nothing to reach his victims.

Their words rang eerily true this weekend, as it emerged that Mr Mathe covered himself in Vaseline, shook off his handcuffs and shackles and squeezed through a bulletproof window measuring just 20cm by 60cm on Saturday night.

"The window (in Mathe's cell) was so small, he could just get his head through. This is the amazing thing." a Correctional Services spokeswoman, Manelisi Wolela, said yesterday. - more