Authorities are searching for two men who escaped from Mpanga International Prison in Nyanza District on Monday.

Rwanda Correctional Service (RCS) identified the two inmates as Boniface Twagirimana who was on remand pending the completion of his trial, and Aimable Murenzi, a convict who has been serving life sentence.

He stands accused of crimes related to the creation of a criminal gang while Murenzi was convicted for aggravated assault with intention to kill.

During an interview with The New Times, Hilary Sengabo, the RCS Spokesperson. said they got to know about the inmates’ disappearance on Monday morning during a routine headcount by prisons officials.

Murenzi has been in jail for the past 11 years while Twagirimana has been in custody for one year.

"Both men apparently jumped over the fence to flee the prison facility though we are yet to identify how they managed to do so; there are signs that they jumped over the fence,” he said.

Sengabo added that RCS in conjunction with other security organs has launched investigations to trace and re-arrest the escapees. 

The Prison official appealed to the general public to report any sighting of the suspects.

"We have taken measures including installing CCTV cameras in all prison facilities, increase security measures as well as security personnel to ensure the prison facilities are all secured,” he added.

It is not the first time that inmates escape from Mpanga prison, located in the Southern Province.

Early last year, three inmates; Cassien Ntamuhanga,  Sibomana Kirenge and Théogène Batambarije escaped the same prison. The latter was re-arrested six months after the escape while the other two are still on the run.