How three political prisoners used handmade wooden keys to escape a high-security South African jail

Entertainment · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: In 1979, three anti-apartheid activists pulled off a daring prison break from Pretoria Prison. By meticulously crafting wooden keys to bypass multiple locked doors, they managed to slip past guards and flee the country. The 2020 film Escape from Pretoria dramatizes this real-life heist, featuring the actual escapee Tim Jenkin.

The 2020 film Escape from Pretoria, directed by Francis Annan, recounts the 1979 escape of Tim Jenkin, Stephen Lee, and Leonard Fontaine. The narrative is based on Jenkin’s 2003 book, Inside Out: Escape from Pretoria Prison. In the film, Jenkin and Lee are arrested in 1978 for anti-apartheid activities, receiving sentences of twelve and eight years, respectively. Inside the prison, they encounter Denis Goldberg, a long-term political prisoner serving four life sentences.

The escape plan relied on Jenkin’s analytical approach to the prison's security. He surreptitiously stole materials from the prison wood shop to fashion wooden keys that could operate the locks on their cell doors. The trio conducted test runs, hiding in closets to evade guards, and eventually executed their plan by using these keys alongside smuggled street clothes. A critical moment of distraction was provided by Goldberg, who short-circuited his own cell light to divert a guard's attention, allowing the men to reach the final exit.

Following their escape, the men navigated through Mozambique and Tanzania to reach London, where they continued their activism. They were eventually pardoned in 1991, a year before the apartheid referendum. While the film received a 73% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, critics noted that while it may lack deep character exploration, it succeeds as a gripping jailbreak thriller. The production itself was an international effort, filmed in Adelaide, Australia, in 2019, with the real Tim Jenkin serving as a consultant and appearing as an extra.

The film’s legacy is tied to the real-world history of the apartheid era. Denis Goldberg, who remained behind, was not released until 1985 after serving 22 years. The film’s release in March 2020 coincided with the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, which impacted its initial theatrical run, though it later found a wider audience on digital platforms and streaming services like Netflix.

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