Cape Town – Inmate Graine Martin, who escaped from Allandale Correctional Centre in the Western Cape, has been found dead.
Martin was serving a 12-year sentence for three counts of assault and theft, having been admitted to the prison facility on 29 August 2023.
In a terse statement on Tuesday, 9 September 2025, the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) confirmed that “an offender, Graine Martin, escaped from Allandale Correctional Centre in the Western Cape earlier today”.
The department said the offender was part of the agricultural span when he escaped.
“Following an intensive search operation, involving SAPS [South African Police Service] and members of the community, the escapee was found deceased,” said DCS spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo.
“Preliminary observations indicate that he took his own life through hanging.”
SAPS has opened an inquest document.
“A full-scale investigation is to be instituted to determine the circumstances surrounding the escape and subsequent death of the offender,” said Nxumalo.
