An awaiting trial prisoner who tried to escape from the Mthatha High Court on Monday has been shot dead.
Provincial police spokesperson, Brigadier Marinda Mills, said that the 32-year-old man was part of a group of seven who had appeared in court on a murder charge.
She says after court proceedings the men were being transported back to Wellington prison when one of them attacked a policeman, stabbing him several times.
Mills said that the prisoner tried to attack a second policeman who fired warning shots before eventually fatally wounding the man.
The Independent Police Investigative Directorate is also investigating.
