Metlae and his co-accused, alleged gangster Sandile Mdumbe, both appeared in the Kempton Park Magistrate's Court on Friday morning to make formal bail applications.

Mdumbe was temporarily excused from the matter as his lawyer was not in court. The matter was postponed to May 27.

The two face charges of corruption, conspiracy to commit an offence, and defeating the ends of justice.

Metlae was guarding Krejcir at Zonderwater Prison in Cullinan, near Pretoria, when he allegedly tried to help him escape.

That was not Krejcir's first alleged attempt at escaping custody. In September last year, Correctional Services spokesperson, Manelisi Wolela, said they had foiled an escape by prisoners, including Krejcir, from Zonderwater, after raiding a number of cells. The items found in Krejcir's cell included a pistol, ammunition, a knife, what looked like a Taser electroshock weapon, a pepper spray gun, screwdriver, steel blades, 10 cell phones, a memory stick, and a diary which contained the names of witnesses and investigators in his cases.

In November, Krejcir's mother allegedly deposited R600 000 into the account of a woman to help fund his escape, News24 reported. She allegedly made a number of withdrawals at different ATMs before the State froze the account.

Another woman was arrested and charged in Cullinan for attempting to smuggle a cell phone into Zonderwater for Krejcir. She was released on bail of R3 000. Krejcir was then moved to the maximum security C-Max prison in Kokstad, KwaZulu-Natal.

- News24.com