The story is about a political prisoner who was arrested for opposing his government's discriminatory policies against citizens. This prisoner was determined to escape, but he was held on the second floor of the prison, which ruled out digging a tunnel or escaping through the window. Therefore, the only option left was to exit through the door, but the problem was that his cell had two doors: one internal and one external. The external door could not be opened from the inside as it was locked from the outside. In addition to these two doors, there were eight other doors that needed to be breached to exit the prison, making a total of ten doors. This situation seemed impossible for an escape, but the prisoner, with his intelligence, decided to create innovative tools to help him breach all these doors and execute the escape.
Early Escape Planning and Facing Multiple Doors
The events of the story took place in the 1970s in South Africa, which had suffered long from colonialism. As a result, South Africa had the largest population of white Europeans. Although this group was a minority, it imposed a strict system of discrimination against the indigenous Black and African populations. This system allowed white people to have their own clean and organized neighborhoods and places, while Black people were forced to live in poor neighborhoods and difficult conditions. This system continued from 1948 to 1994. The security forces in South Africa at that time tightened surveillance and espionage systems. Our story begins with Tim Jenkin and Stephen Lee, two white South African citizens and prominent activists against the discrimination system. On one occasion, Tim detonated a "leaflet bomb" in a street, containing a message calling on the residents to resist the government and the discrimination system. The two continued their activities for years, but eventually, the security forces became aware of them and arrested them.
Imprisonment in Pretoria Maximum Security Prison
In January 1978, Tim Jenkin and his friend Stephen Lee were imprisoned in Pretoria Prison, which was considered one of the strongest prisons in South Africa and was classified as a maximum-security prison. They were charged with terrorism and sentenced to 12 years in prison. The prison guards did not know that Tim and Stephen were determined to escape even before the verdict was issued. The prison was extremely difficult and included many security measures to thwart any escape attempt. The fence was a six-meter-high iron mesh, and the prison rooftops had armed guards at all times. At night, dogs were released into the prison yards, dogs capable of tracking any prisoner attempting to escape.
Observing Multiple Doors Inside the Prison
When the guards first led Tim and his friend Stephen to their cells, they noticed the large number of doors they passed through, one after another. The doors seemed endless; some were heavy, some were bars, and some were ordinary wooden doors. The prison was full of doors. From their first days in prison, and when they went out during break times, they explored every corner, examining walls, exits, and entrances, trying to find any possible loopholes. They quickly realized that it would be very difficult and complicated. Tim and Stephen were not the only political prisoners; there were ten others, making a total of 12 political prisoners, all held in the same section, with their cells adjacent. Their section was on the second floor, which meant that escaping by digging a tunnel was impossible, as was escaping from the high window. So, there was no way out except through the cell door, which had a lock.
Developing and Smuggling a Wooden Key
Tim sat thinking about how to open the lock while looking at it. He was not an expert in locks, but he had previous experience opening some with wires, which gave him a general understanding of how locks work. He approached the cell lock and began examining it closely, imagining its internal shape and components, and the shape of the key that could open it. An idea struck him, so he took a piece of paper, placed it on the lock, and drew the lock's dimensions to determine the size of the key needed to open it. Then he took another piece of paper, folded it with a pen, and inserted them into the lock to determine the lock's depth. He used paper and pens to get the key measurements. In 1978, locks were not as advanced as today; they were somewhat primitive. Eventually, Tim managed to draw the key with the measurements he believed were correct.
Making and Cleverly Smuggling the Key
Now that he had the measurements, Tim thought of making the key out of wood, because they worked in the prison's carpentry workshop, where they made various things from wood. Tim decided to try making a key from wood, which was unusual and very strange. Even Stephen, his friend, was not convinced by the idea and did not believe that a wooden key could open the lock even if its measurements were correct. But anyway, they had nothing to lose, so why not try?
Tim made the key while working in the workshop, and he had to do it under the watchful eyes of the guards, which made it extremely difficult. Stephen always tried to cover for him. After a full week, he finally managed to make the key. The next step was to get the key out of the workshop, as prisoners were searched when they left. The solution was the coffee cup. Every prisoner had a cup, but these cups were searched, and the guard would pour any remaining coffee into the sink to ensure nothing was smuggled. Tim discovered that the bottom of the coffee cup could be detached, and inside it was a small space where he could hide the key. So he opened the base, stuffed it with paper, and then placed the key inside the paper. The paper stuffing was to prevent the key from moving inside the base, so even if the guard shook the cup, he wouldn't hear the key.
When the prisoners lined up to leave the workshop, the guard began searching them one by one, and as usual, he would take their coffee cups, pour out any remaining coffee, and make sure they were empty. When it was Tim's turn, he was nervous but remained calm. He handed his cup to the guard, who opened it, poured out the coffee, and shook the cup. The paper stuffing proved useful, and the guard heard nothing. The guard returned the cup to Tim, and he was allowed to pass and return to his cell with the wooden key.
Wooden Key Success and New Challenges
As soon as Tim returned to his cell, and after the guards left the section, he immediately began trying the key. He inserted the key into the hole with enthusiasm, but his excitement quickly faded when the key didn't work; the lock didn't open. But Tim had anticipated this and had a plan. Choosing wood was not in vain; when the wooden key rotates inside the lock, the lock leaves marks on the key, which allows him to identify the areas where the key sticks. He had a small piece of iron, so he began using it to carve the key in the places marked by the lock, trying to shape the key properly. He kept carving the key, inserting it into the lock, and repeating the attempt, until the lock finally opened.
Tim felt an indescribable sense of victory and euphoria at that moment, as if he had accomplished something great. But he knew that this was just the beginning. The lock he opened was for the first cell door, which was a bar door. Immediately behind this door, there was another armored iron door on the cell, a full door this time, not just bars. What was worse was that this door had no lock from inside the cell; it could only be opened from the outside. Tim knew about the two doors on the cell, and that after opening the first door, he would face the problem of the second door. But he was operating on the principle of solving the current problem first, and then thinking about the next problems.
The External Door Challenge and How to Reach It
There was a small window next to the door from which the prisoner could extend his hand, but it was impossible to reach the external door's lock from that distance. Before Tim found a way to reach the lock from inside the cell, he first had to make the right key for this lock. The only opportunity Tim had to take measurements of the external lock was on Friday, which was the day for cleaning the section. Every Friday morning, the guards would take the prisoners out of their cells to clean the section and the corridor in front of the cells. Incidentally, all the prisoners in this section were political prisoners, and they were cooperative. They knew about Tim and Stephen's plan and would cover for them and warn them when guards approached.
Initially, Tim tried to use the same key he used for the internal door, but the key didn't work. Again, he took the key measurements in the same way he used for the first lock: paper and pen to measure the depth and draw an approximate shape of the key. He made the key in the workshop and smuggled it in the same way in the coffee cup. After that, he kept trying this key and modifying it with the small piece of iron as he did with the first key until it fit.
The Stuck Lock Incident and Cautious Retreat
Remember that Tim was trying the key with the door open because they were cleaning the section and the corridor. When he tried the key, it locked but didn't open. When he tried to turn the key again to open the lock, he discovered that the lock was stuck; the lock's bolt was protruding and would not retract. The key would go in and out of the lock normally, but it wouldn't turn. Tim kept trying, trying to hit the lock with his hand, and trying in every way, but everything failed; the lock didn't move. Eventually, the guards came, so Tim left the lock and returned to his cell.
The guards saw the lock, but instead of blaming the prisoners or suspecting that one of them had tampered with the lock, they began blaming each other, believing that one of them had left the lock in this state. They did not suspect the prisoners at all. And in any case, it was not a disaster; they opened the lock with their keys, closed the door, and re-locked it.
Developing a Clever Tool to Open Distant Doors
Here, Tim took a deep breath, because he was terrified that they would search his cell and find the wooden keys. But luckily for him, things worked out in his favor this time. After this incident, and after Tim and Stephen consulted, they decided not to try the lock again with the door open. They would only try it with the door closed.
Now, we come to the main problem: the external door's lock could only be opened from the outside, and the small window next to the door was too far for the prisoner to extend his hand and reach the lock's opening. Tim and Stephen were perplexed by this problem for a long time, thinking of a solution. Finally, one day, inspiration came to Tim. They were allowed to keep cleaning brooms in their cells. So Tim came up with an innovative invention: he brought a wooden cube, fixed the key to it, and then used a screw to attach the wooden cube to the end of the broom handle. With this, he could extend the handle and rotate this wooden piece with the key inside the lock. It was a very clever invention and innovation.
Night Attempt to Open the Difficult Lock
Of course, trying such an invention involved risk, because it might make sounds, and because guards conducted random inspections from time to time. Stephen was on lookout, listening for any sound of a guard approaching their section.
Tim extended his hand from the window, holding the broom, and had tied it to his hand with a small rope so he could easily retrieve it if it fell. Tim extended his hand, trying to find the lock and insert the key into it. With the other hand, he held a small mirror to see the keyhole, because he could not put his head out of the window due to the bars. He kept trying again and again to insert the key into the lock, but the process was extremely difficult.
Broom Key Success and Overcoming the First Three Doors
Finally, after a long time and many attempts, he managed to insert the key into the lock. He took a deep breath, happy, and relaxed his extremely tense nerves. Then, he tried to turn the key in the lock, but unfortunately, the key did not turn. Tim took the broom back and started working on the key again with the small piece of iron. The lock marks were clear on the key, so he knew where to carve or where the key stuck when it was inside the lock. He kept carving in these areas and trying to adjust the key's shape to fit the lock better.
He continued like this for several nights, trying every night for as long as possible, for several hours, just trying to adjust this key. Imagine that this process took him two full months, during which he had to change the key more than once. It was extremely difficult, but he did not despair and kept trying until the lock finally opened one day after hundreds or perhaps thousands of attempts. The joy Tim felt at that moment was indescribable, perhaps he had never felt such joy in his entire life before. It was a great victory for them; they were now able to leave their cells, and they could easily open these two doors. All their cells had the same lock, which was natural; they wouldn't make a special lock for each cell.
Now, it was the turn of the next door, the section door. The only period they could try this door's lock was during the cleaning period that happened every Friday morning. First, before Tim tried to make a new key, he tried the keys he had, hoping one would succeed. And here was the pleasant surprise; when he tried the first key, the cell's internal door key, the lock opened! They were using the same lock on the section door. Of course, you cannot imagine the joy that overwhelmed them; they had saved themselves a lot of effort. They were now able to open their cell doors and open their section door.
Planning the Prison Layout and Expanding the Team
Tim and Stephen sat discussing. Their initial plan was to escape from the prison yard, meaning to exit their section and then either dig a hole underground or climb the six-meter iron fence somehow. But Tim told Stephen: "Why don't we go out through the door? The main door or the staff door or any door that leads outside. If I can make keys for all those doors, I can make keys for any other doors we might encounter."
Stephen felt the idea was a bit crazy, because they didn't know how many doors they might face, or where they could find the door that would let them out. They didn't know the prison layout. To find out the prison layout and exactly where they needed to go and what path they needed to take after leaving their cells and section, Stephen came up with a plan: he pretended to have severe tooth pain. There was no dentist in the prison, so he had to be taken out of prison to visit a dentist. And if he left the prison, he would know the number of doors they had to cross and the corridor they had to follow.
After Stephen went out to visit the dentist and passed through all the doors and knew the path they had to follow, he returned to Tim with an unpleasant surprise: he told him that he had crossed seven doors after leaving the section. This meant they had a total of ten doors to cross to get out of prison. But at least, they now had a clear plan of the path they would take.
At this stage of the operation, they felt they needed an additional team member. Over the past period, they had befriended one of the prisoners held on the same charge, named Alex Moumbaris. When they offered him the idea of escaping with them, he immediately became enthusiastic. He wanted to join them, but he didn't want to impose himself.
The Escape Plan and Details of the Difficult Path
Stephen explained to them the layout of the path they would take, a path full of doors they needed to open. To make the picture clear in your minds, I have drawn this diagram illustrating the path and the doors they need to open.
Here we have the cell section. The first two doors they must open are the doors on the cell, and we will call them Door Number One and Two. After leaving the cell, they will face the section door, which is Door Number Three. After passing through it, they will come across a staircase. This staircase takes them downstairs because, as we said, they were on the second floor. Below the stairs is Door Number Four. After exiting it, there will be a corridor, and at the end of this corridor is Door Number Five. But before Door Number Five, there is the main guards' room, and the duty guard for the section is usually there.
After passing through Door Number Five, comes Door Number Six, followed by Door Number Seven, which consisted of bars, then Door Number Eight, then Door Number Nine, followed by a small staircase. This staircase leads to Door Number Ten, which is the door that takes them out of the prison. Remember that this Door Number Ten led directly outside the prison. It seemed to be a special door for guards or staff to enter the prison directly. This door was like a back door, different from the main gate. So if they reached this door and exited it, they would leave the prison directly without needing to pass through the prison yard or cross the fence. Thus, they wouldn't have to face the dogs that roamed the yard at night, nor the armed guards who stood and watched from the rooftops. But of course, the challenge was to cross all these doors in front of them.
Remember also that this is a simplified diagram; the prison was more complex than this diagram, but this diagram is useful for understanding the path they needed to cross and for forming a clear picture of the place in your minds.
Crossing Door Number Four and Exploiting the Night Guard's Routine
Now, having passed the first three doors, the next door was Door Number Four, which they faced after descending the stairs. The advantage they had regarding this door was that they saw and passed through it daily, because it was the door that led them to the workshop, the outer yard, and other prison areas. So every day they saw the guards opening this door in front of them. Tim focused and observed the shape and size of the key and tried to copy it in his mind. The key did not differ much from the previous keys, so Tim made an approximate key from his head, a key similar to the previous ones.
Now, the problem of how to test it arose. This door was not close to them, so exiting their cells and their section and descending the stairs to reach this door was a huge risk. To reduce this risk, they had to plan carefully, and they had to observe the guards and their behavior. One piece of information they discovered was that from 5 PM, there was only one guard responsible and present in their section. Of course, dogs were released in the outer yard, and armed guards were on the rooftops. But anyway, as we said, they didn't need to go out into the outer yard; they only needed to be cautious of the guard inside, who usually sat in the guards' office.
Crossing Door Number Five and the Risks of Experimentation
Different guards rotated on the night shift, but one guard took this shift more than his colleagues because he liked the night duty. And luckily for the prisoners, this guard had a fixed routine that he never changed. Every night, he would play music through the internal sound system and the speakers in the cells. This meant he would sit in his office, relax, and listen to music, and the prisoners would listen with him. After the music ended, he would get up, leave the office, and go to conduct his inspection tour of the cells. This meant that during the period when the music was playing, the prisoners could be sure that he was sitting in the office.
They took advantage of this time when the music was playing and left their cells. Tim went out with Alex, and they then exited the section door, which is Door Number Three, descended the stairs, reached Door Number Four downstairs, and began trying their new key. Of course, the key did not work on the first try, as usual, but Tim was ready with his tools and immediately began adjusting the key. He became an expert in this matter, and everything was easier this time. It certainly wouldn't be as difficult as when he extended his hand with a stick, as he did with the cell door, which he struggled with for two full months. On the first time they went down, Tim was immediately able to adjust the key and open the lock. And quickly, they went up the stairs and returned to their section and cells. Only a few minutes passed until the music stopped, and the night officer began his inspection tour, leaving his room towards their cells.
Now, they were able to open four out of ten doors. But the further they went, the more difficult the task became, because the doors were further and further from their cells. Now, they would face Door Number Five, which was literally in front of the guards' office. How could they reach this door and experiment on it with the guard in the next room? Even if this were possible, the risks were very high, and if caught, their sentence would easily double. So they had to find a way to try Door Number Five without the guard being in the office. But the only time the guard was not in the office was when he went to conduct his inspection tour, meaning he would leave the office, walk down the corridor, then go up the stairs and reach their cells. So how could they, at the same time, leave their cells and reach Door Number Five by the same path he was coming from? This way they would meet in the middle.
Hiding in the Cabinet and Facing the Guard
The solution they found was that under the stairs, they noticed a small cabinet that could fit two or three people. Since they knew that this guard played music, and after the music ended, he would leave his office and conduct his inspection tour, they could leave their cells when the music was playing. After that, they would wait for the guard to leave his office, pass through Gate Number Four, go up the stairs, and go to their section. They would then come out from under the stairs from this cabinet where they were hiding, go to Door Number Five, and conduct their experiments on it.
After they sat together and discussed this plan and repeated it more than once until they memorized it, they decided to go ahead with it and take the risk. It was the best plan they could think of. The first step was to arrange the blankets so that it looked like someone was sleeping under them, because the guard would come to inspect their cells when they weren't there, so he must think they were sleeping under the blankets.
Moments of Tension on the Big Escape Night
As soon as the music started, this was their signal to move. First, Tim had to open the outer door of his cell, so he took out the broom and began trying to insert the key into the outer lock, a process that, as usual, was not easy at all and took time and several attempts. After he finally managed to insert the key, he opened the lock and then the cell door and exited. Then he went directly to Alex's cell and opened his cell doors, and quickly the two exited the section door, went down the stairs, reached the cabinet under the stairs, entered it, and hid.
The two were extremely tense. For the first time, they would be outside their cells, and a guard would pass by them. The bad thing also was that when they entered this small cabinet, they faced a problem they hadn't thought of, which was closing the cabinet door from the inside. The handles were outside, and there were no internal handles; there was only a small internal lock protrusion the size of a coin. Alex was holding the door, and his hand was trembling as he held this small protrusion with his fingertips. On top of that, he was tense and scared, so the situation was not reassuring at all.
The guard was walking down the path, coming out of his office grimly towards them. The two were terrified to the extreme. The guard reached Door Number Four, and they heard him take out his key, put it in the lock, and open the door. At that moment, as the guard was entering the door, Alex's hand trembled, and he let go of the protrusion he was holding. Most likely, his fingers slipped from the tension and sweat pouring from him. Imagine the level of tension you would be in in such a terrifying situation.
Luck Smiles Again and Five Doors Crossed
The cabinet door opened as the guard entered the door. It was the worst thing that could happen to them, and Tim and Alex thought this was the end and that they had been caught. But as usual, luck was on their side; the guard did not notice them or the cabinet door that opened in front of him. His eyes were on the stairs, and he immediately went up and continued his way upwards without noticing the cabinet or its open door.
Despite the tension and terror they were in, Tim and Alex knew they had no time and had to move immediately. As soon as they heard the guard enter the cell section door upstairs, they came out of the cabinet towards Door Number Four. And luckily for them, the guard had not closed the door behind him, so they didn't even need to use the key they had made. It seemed that this was a habit of the guard: to leave the doors open behind him because he was going to the cells, so he didn't expect prisoners to be behind him.
The two passed through Door Number Four and went directly into the corridor and headed towards Door Number Five. When they reached the door, the first thing Tim tried was the keys to the previous locks. And good luck continued with them; the key to Door Number Four was the same as the key to Door Number Five. So they passed through Door Number Five, but then they faced Door Number Six, which looked completely different, and it was clear that it was more armored.
The Challenge of Door Six and Temporary Despair
Tim immediately began his experiments on the lock, and Alex watched from the opening of Door Number Five in case the guard returned. At this time, the guard was conducting his inspection tour, passing by the cells one by one and looking through the windows. And of course, when he looked through the window of Tim's cell and Alex's cell, he would see the shape of the blankets that looked like someone sleeping under them. Their friend Stephen, who was in his cell, was nervous as he watched the guard conducting the inspection, and at the same time he knew that his friends were outside.
They knew that the guard took about 15 minutes to finish his inspection tour, so they had set themselves a ten-minute window, after which they had to return immediately. Tim was now trying to open the lock of Door Number Six. The first thing he tried was the keys he had, of course, but none of them opened the lock. Tim continued his experiments on the lock, and Alex watched nervously and warned Tim about the time. Tim tried several things on the lock, including metal wires, but all his attempts failed. And what made it more difficult, of course, was that he was at the peak of tension and his hands were literally shaking.
When the time was up, meaning the ten minutes they had set for themselves, Alex began telling him that they had to go back, they had no time. Tim kept trying and telling him: "Just wait, wait a little." And it reached the point where Alex literally had to grab him and quickly pull him from the corridor to the stairs, and they hid again in the small cabinet. Only a few moments passed, and they heard the sound of the guard coming down the stairs. This meant that if they had delayed even a little longer, they would most likely have been caught.
Innovating a Wire Key and Planning the Final Escape
Finally, they were able to take a deep breath of relief after seeing the guard pass through Door Number Four and exit into the corridor towards his office. After that, they immediately came out of the cabinet, went up the stairs to the second floor, entered the section, and returned to their cells. Tim felt a sense of defeat, although he had managed to get past at least one door, Door Number Five, but he wanted to get past more than one door on the same night, because this trip they were taking involved high risk, and the more trips they made, the higher the probability of being caught. Imagine that from the tension and pressure he felt that night, he couldn't even sleep, and he was very worried about the lock on Door Number Six because he felt it was one of the most difficult locks in the prison, and that he would struggle with it.
Tim did not want to go down again and try to open Door Number Six unless he was sure it would succeed. He was not willing to risk going down more than once and trying his luck; instead, he had to breach this door quickly. During that period, Tim made keys not only for the doors on their path, but he even made keys for different doors in the prison. One of these doors was a semi-hidden side door that could lead them to the workshop, and he even made a key for the workshop door. The workshop actually had several doors from several sides, so he made keys that could get them to the workshop so they could sneak in and take the tools they needed at any time.
Escape Night: Power Outage and Guard Diversion
Tim now had a large collection of keys, as if he were one of the prison guards. But of course, his biggest concern was the lock on Door Number Six. So he began to think of a new way to make a special key for this door, a key with a very high probability of success, until he came up with an innovative idea and design. He made a key made of metal wires but with a wooden head. So you say: "Wait, how can this help?" This design allowed him to make more than one wooden head so he could switch between these heads quickly. And the second advantage was that he could move the key inside the lock more easily, because the wires could go deeper into the lock, so he could move the key head up and down and at different angles that he couldn't do with ordinary wooden keys. This would give him more freedom and make room so that the wooden key head didn't need to be 100% accurate in shape for the lock.
When Tim finished this design, he felt that he had reached the tool that would enable him to open Door Number Six without any doubt. And he not only wanted to open Door Number Six, but he wanted to cross all the doors in one go on one night only. This would certainly take longer, so their friend Stephen, who would remain in his cell, had to find a way to distract the guard and make his inspection tour longer.
Crossing Doors Six and Seven and the Anticipated Exit
The night of execution arrived. Immediately, when the prisoners heard the music playing, they began their movements. Tim came out of his cell and Alex came out with him, and the two descended the stairs together and reached the cabinet downstairs, hid in it, and waited there until the music stopped. After that, they heard the guard and saw him cross and go up towards the cells. Immediately, they passed through Door Number Four into the corridor and headed to Door Number Five. They opened Door Number Five with the key to Door Number Four, and now it was the turn of Door Number Six.
At this time, at the cells, Stephen began his plan to distract the guard. The plan was simple: Stephen knew that this guard loved rugby, which is one of the most famous sports in South Africa. So he started talking to him about the game: who won and who lost and how the matches were. And the guard got carried away in the conversation because he loved the game.
Door Ten: The Final Surprise and Successful Escape
Meanwhile, Tim, Stephen, and Alex had reached Door Number Five and passed through it with ease using the same key as Door Number Four. After that, they faced Door Number Six, which was, as we said, the most difficult lock, but they were equipped for it with the wire key. So they managed to get past it in two or three minutes after a few attempts. After that, came Door Number Seven, which was, as we said, bars, and Tim had already unlocked it and made it open easily with any tool. So they passed Door Number Seven, and after it, Door Number Eight was open as usual. And Door Number Nine they opened with the same key as Door Number Four and Five.
Then they faced the small staircase that led them to Door Number Ten. So they went up the stairs, and Tim immediately began trying the keys he had on the lock, but the keys did not open. He kept trying them one after another, and the more he tried a key, the more nervous he became. This was the worst nightmare they could face at this point: that the keys would not open the lock of Door Number Ten. Tim, from the many keys he had made and the locks he had opened, reached a stage where he felt he was a professional in locks, so he didn't even imagine that this last lock would defeat him.
At this time, the guard finished talking with Dennis and began walking towards the breaker to see the problem with the power outage. And when he reached the breaker, he began trying to fix the problem and adjust the wires. The three prisoners were still trying to open the door, and they stayed for more than 20 minutes, with Tim trying to open the lock with all the tools he had, but to no avail.
End of the Journey: Freedom and Escape from Prison
After all this time, the guard managed to restore power and finished his inspection tour and began making his way back to the office. The three were still at the door, and they heard the guard's footsteps returning, and they heard him open the office door and enter, meaning the guard was now between them and their cells. That is, if they thought of returning, for example, they would have to pass in front of the office. Tim's opinion was to return to the cells and try another day. Yes, there was a risk in passing in front of the office with the guard in it, but he saw that this was the best option. But his two other friends, Stephen and Alex, disagreed. They agreed that they had to get out of prison now, no turning back.
Alex took an iron tool from the tools they had and decided to try to break the lock. This tool was one of the tools they had stolen from the workshop after making a key for it. Tim immediately objected and said that trying to break the lock would cause a loud sound, and the guard would most likely hear them. But Alex was determined, so he took the tool and began digging into the wood around the lock. By the way, the door was wooden, not armored or iron. The only armored door was Door Number Six. Alex's blows and digging into the wood were indeed noisy and caused sounds. Tim was watching the corridor, terrified that the guard would come out of his office at any moment.
Alex kept digging and digging and breaking the wood of the door until the door suddenly opened in front of them. And apparently, the guard did not hear them because he did not come out of his office. Their joy at that moment was indescribable, but they knew they had to control their emotions and not let excessive excitement take over, because they were still within the prison's vicinity. They opened the door quietly and exited normally, but they kept their heads down at the same time, trying not to let anyone see their faces, but at the same time they were trying not to arouse suspicion.
Full Success and Reaching Safety
Immediately, a short distance after exiting the door, they saw a car and next to it two prison guards, who seemed to have finished their shift and were returning home. Their hearts were pounding violently at that moment, but they remained calm and kept walking. The guards did not care much; they gave them a glance or two and returned to talking to each other. In the end, the three were wearing civilian clothes, and it didn't make sense for prisoners to reach this place anyway.
The three kept walking until they were far from the prison and reached one of the main streets in the city. At that moment, they were finally able to breathe a sigh of relief and truly felt joy and victory, and that their plan and escape operation had succeeded. At this point, we usually reach the sad part in prison escape stories, which is the capture of the prisoners after the escape. But I assure you that this story is different. Perhaps for the first time in the history of this channel, we present a prison escape story in which the prisoners are not caught after the escape.
What happened was that these three had agreed with a man from Zimbabwe, a country neighboring South Africa. This man was a smuggler, so they agreed with him to smuggle them to Zimbabwe. And indeed, they left South Africa with him and reached Zimbabwe, and after that, they left Zimbabwe and went to Zambia, then to Tanzania, and from Tanzania, they were able to fly to London. They settled down and lived there until the apartheid system in South Africa ended in 1994. I honestly don't know if they returned to South Africa or continued to live in London or went somewhere else; I have no knowledge.
But Tim Jenkin later wrote a book called "Escape from Pretoria," in which he narrated the events of the story and how they carried out the escape in all its details. This book was even turned into a dramatic film later. And Tim appeared in documentaries and gave various lectures and seminars around the world about their amazing escape story.
🔹 Sources:
-
Tim Jenkin’s personal account of his escape, published on South African History Online, provides an in-depth first-hand narrative of the events.
-
BBC News published an article discussing how Tim Jenkin escaped Pretoria Prison and the political climate surrounding it.
-
The film "Escape from Pretoria" (2020) is based on Jenkin's true story and draws from his own book Inside Out: Escape from Pretoria Prison. More about the film can be found on its IMDb page.
-
An excellent summary of Jenkin’s political activities and activism can be read on Wikipedia’s Tim Jenkin page, which includes references to multiple verified sources.
-
The anti-apartheid group African National Congress (ANC), which Jenkin supported, provides historical context on its official site.
-
Jenkin’s book, Inside Out, is available for preview and purchase on Google Books.