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# South Africa: South Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg
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[2022] ZAGPJHC 195
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## Hlomuka v The National Commissioner South African Police Service and Another (2020/23988)
[2022] ZAGPJHC 195 (25 March 2022)
Hlomuka v The National Commissioner South African Police Service and Another (2020/23988)
[2022] ZAGPJHC 195 (25 March 2022)
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sino date 25 March 2022
SAFLII
Note:
Certain
personal/private details of parties or witnesses have been
redacted from this document in compliance with the law
and
SAFLII
Policy
IN
THE HIGH COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA
GAUTENG
LOCAL DIVISION, JOHANNESBURG
CASE
NO.:2020/23988
REPORTABLE:
NO
OF
INTEREST TO OTHER JUDGES: NO
REVISED:
NO
25/03/2022
In
the matter between:
HLOMUKA,
THEMBA
Plaintiff
and
THE
NATIONAL COMMISSIONER
SOUTH
AFRICAN POLICE SERVICE
1
ST
Defendant
MINISTER
OF
POLICE
2
nd
Defendant
J
U D G M E N T
FLATELA,
AJ.
Introduction
[1]
On 26 June 2019 the plaintiff was arrested without a warrant and
detained by the police
on a charge of housebreaking with intent to
steal and theft which allegedly took place at the plaintiff’s
home on 22 March
2019. All household items were recovered on 22 March
2019. The plaintiff was held in custody in Jabulani police station
cells and
was brought before the court the following day. The
plaintiff appeared before a Magistrate on 27 June 2019 for a bail
application.
He was legally unrepresented. The Magistrate considered
the bail the application and set the bail amount at R2000 (Two
Thousand
Rands). The plaintiff was not able to the bail amount. The
plaintiff was remanded in custody and transferred to Sun City
Correctional
Service whilst awaiting trial. The State withdrew the
charges against him on 07 August 2019 after the matter was referred
to informal
Alternative dispute resolution. Plaintiff’s mother
withdrew the charges against him.
[2]
The plaintiff instituted a delictual claim against the defendant for
general damages
in the amount of R2 000 000.00 (Two million
rands only) arising from his unlawful arrest and detention without a
warrant
for the entire period of his detention including further
detention after his first court appearance. The plaintiff contends
that
an amount of R30 000.00 per day is reasonable.
[3]
Both liability and quantum are disputed by the defendant. In its
amended plea the
defendant contends that the arrest was lawful. The
defendant relies on the ambits of section 40 (1) (b) of the CPA
[1]
, which as a general rule permits the arrest by the police officers
without a warrant.
Issue
for determination
[4]
At issue before this court is whether the arrest and detention were
wrongful and unlawful
as alleged by the Plaintiff. Further, whether
the Minister of Police is liable for further detention of about 6
weeks after the
plaintiff’s first appearance before the court
in circumstances where bail was granted and the plaintiff could not
afford
to pay bail set by the Magistrate.
Onus
[5]
The arrest is common cause. It is trite that the onus rests on a
defendant to prove
that the action of its members was justified in
law.
[2]
[6]
The complainant in the charge against the plaintiff died before the
commencement of
the trial. At the commencement of the trial, the
counsel for the plaintiff applied that the statement made by the
complainant which
had since deceased is hearsay and should be
declared inadmissible. After consideration of the issue, I resolved
to admit the statement
for what it purports to be but it will not
have probative value in the determination of the matter.
Factual
background
[7]
The facts are common cause.
7.1 On 26 June 2019 at
about 23H00 the plaintiff was arrested without warrant by a member of
the South African Police Services Erwen
Monyela (Monyela) after he
was pointed out by the complainant, his deceased uncle Chief Albert
Hlomuka.
7.2 The plaintiff was a
suspect in a housebreaking that took place on an unknown date at the
Plaintiff’s residence wherein
certain household items were
stolen.
7.3 The household items
were discovered by the plaintiff’s late uncle in the property
on 22 March 2019. It is alleged that
the plaintiff’s friend
Mpumelelo Dlamini (Dlamini) brought them to the house and left them
at the back of the main house
on Friday 22 March 2019.
7.4 The plaintiff was not
at home at the time.
7.5 The plaintiff lived
in the property with his late uncle Chief Albert Hlomuka, his junior
brother Mpumelelo Hlomuka and his mother
Sibongile Hlomuka. The
property consists of the main house with two bedrooms, kitchen and
lounge (the main house), The outside
garage which was converted to a
room and there are outside rooms that are used by the tenants and an
outside toilet.
7.6 The plaintiff and his
mother use the bedrooms in the main house, the uncle and junior
brother uses garage and an outside backroom
respectively.
7.7 On 22 March 2019 the
plaintiff’s uncle discovered the stolen household items after
seeing Dlamini, plaintiff’s friend
entering the property with a
big plastic bag and left it behind the outside toilet.
7.8 After inspecting it,
he took it to his room and called the plaintiff’s mother who
was at work at the time to inform him
about the issue. In the
evening, plaintiff’s mother returned home after work, she
confirmed the items as hers. She also discovered
that her room door
was tempered with.
7.9 The matter was
reported to the police by the complainant as the plaintiff’s
mother does not stay permanently at her home.
He suspected the
plaintiff and his friend Mpumelelo.
7.10 The household items
were left with the complainant as evidence.
[8]
The statement by the complainant was read to the record. In his
statement the complainant
stated that on 22 March 2019 whilst at his
room, looking through the window, he saw the plaintiff’s
friend, one Mpumelelo
Dlamini (Dlamini) of house no [....] Zwane
Street, Emndeni, entering their home from the main gate carrying a
big plastic bag with
an item inside. Dlamini knocked on the main door
of the main house, there was no response, he went to the back of the
house and
came back of the house without the plastic and left the
property. After Dlamini left the property, the complainant went out
of
his room to check the plastic bag. He found the plastic at the
back of the outside toilet and he noticed that the plastic had
household
items that belonged to the main house. He immediately
called his sister, Sibongile Hlomuka, the plaintiff’s mother
informing
her that Dlamini had left a huge plastic back with
household items. After identifying the items in the plastic,
Sibongile confirmed
that the items belonged to her. He took the
plastic to his room. The complainant stated that he did not have keys
for the main
house, only the plaintiff and his mother had the keys as
they were the ones staying in the house. Sibongile returned from work
in the evening on the same day. She confirmed that the items were
hers. Sibongile unlocked the main door of the main house, they
both
entered the house. The main door was not tampered with. Sibongile
noticed that her bedroom door was forcefully opened and
two cast iron
pots valued at R3000 and black carvela shoes valued at R1 925
.00 were stolen from her room. Although Sibongile
has her room in the
main house, she does not stay full time at her home. Sibongile did
not open the case because she does not stay
at home. It is this
statement that the defendant relied on to arrest the plaintiff for
housebreaking with intention to steal. After
the arrest of the
plaintiff on 26 June 2019, Sibongile Hlomuka, plaintiff’s
mother also made a statement.
The Defendant’s
case
[9]
The defendant called evidence of three witnesses. The first witness
was Sibongile
Hlomuka, the plaintiff’s mother. The second
witness was Sergeant Monyela, who was the arresting officer and, the
third witness
was Constable Solly Baloyi, who was the investigating
officer.
[10]
Sibongile Hlomuka testified that on Friday 22 March 2019 she was
called by her late brother Chief
Albert Hlomuka who advised her that
he found a green JM plastic bag with cookery, cutlery and some other
household items behind
the outside toilet. She stated that the items
were hers and they were kept in her bedroom which was always locked
as she was not
staying full time in her home but with her fiancée.
On the evening of the same day, she went to her home and found her
late
brother in the garage where he was staying. He showed her the
plastic bag containing the household items. She confirmed that the
items were hers. The deceased had taken the plastic bag from behind
the outside toilet and kept it in his room. She left the plastic
with
her brother. She testified that she does not remember if the main
door of the main house was locked on the day in question
because
sometimes it is unlocked and one could get entrance without using the
key, however, she noticed her bedroom door was tampered
with. Asked
what else was missing she mentioned that her junior son also named
Mpumelelo’s carvela shoe to the value of R2000
was also
missing. On how the carvela shoe got lost, she stated that Mpumelelo
stays in the outside room where he keeps all his
belongings.
Mpumelelo told her that the plaintiff had requested permission from
him to use his room in order to spend time with
his girlfriend and
her girlfriend’s friend who came to visit. The Plaintiff had
left his girlfriend and her friend temporarily
and he came back to
accompany the girls to their homes. Mpumelelo noticed that his
carvela was missing. She confronted the Plaintiff
about the missing
shoes and the Plaintiff told her not to worry as he was going to
investigate the matter with his girlfriend.
He came with feedback
that the girls who were in Mpumelelo’s room sold the shoes to
one Sakhile.
[11]
Her late brother told her that he suspected that the plaintiff was
involved in committing the
crime. She told him to report the matter
to the police. He indeed went to the police station to report the
matter. As the items
did not belong to the complainant, the police
required the owner to come forward and report as well. She went to
the police station
and confirmed what his brother told him and what
he saw. She was not required to make the statement so she did not
make the statement
on that day. It was only after the plaintiff was
arrested that Baloyi took the statement from her.
[12]
The witness testified that whilst the plaintiff was in jail, she
noticed that the plastic bag
which contained the items that were kept
by complainant was no longer full but half empty. When confronted
about this, the complainant
accused their cousin’s girlfriend
of stealing the items which the cousin brother denied. She realised
that everyone in the
family will end up being arrested due to the
accusations. She also testified that her late brother told her that
it was the tenant
who saw Mpumelelo Dlamini with a plastic. She
decided to withdraw the case against the plaintiff. She contacted the
Defendant (Constable
Baloyi) to advise him of her intention to
withdraw the case against the plaintiff. Constable Baloyi told her to
withdraw the matter
in court. She attended court on 07 August 2019
where the matter against the Plaintiff was withdrawn. She testified
that the plaintiff
was not working at the time of arrest but
sometimes he was working with attorneys.
[13]
Under cross examination the witness testified that a person inside
the garage could not see a
person knocking on the main door of the
main house. She also stated that all of them had keys to the main
house except his junior
son Mpumelelo. The main house is not always
locked. Asked if the carvela shoes were stolen on the same day as
other items which
included pots. The witness stated these were two
distinct incidents. When asked why the complainant reported the
incidents as if
they occurred on the same day, the witness then
stated that her brother incorrectly reported the matter to see the
plaintiff arrested
as they were not in good terms. When asked if she
knew that the police went to her home to investigate the matter, she
responded
in the negative. She also testified that she never visited
the plaintiff in prison because she was always at work. She stated
that
the plaintiff was unemployed at the time of arrest but he was
employed by attorneys on a part time basis.
[14]
The evidence of this witness was totally inconsistent and
contradictory to her statement that
she furnished Baloyi on 26 June
2019. In her statement she stated that only the plaintiff had the key
to the main house, the main
door was not tempered with only her
bedroom door was tempered with. Regarding the missing carvela shoe
she stated that the plaintiff
told her that he never stole the shoe
and that the shoe was with Sakhile, she went to look to Sakhile’s
place and Sakhile
advised that two girls came selling the shoe but he
never bought them. In her statement she stated that she suspected the
plaintiff
because there was no forced entry in the front door. In
court the story changed now it was not only Themba but her late
brother
had the key too, the main door is sometimes left unlocked, it
was her late brother who suspected the plaintiff because he did not
like him, the recovered items were missing whilst in her late
brother’s possession and that is the reason, she withdrew the
complaint against the plaintiff. She was unreliable and definitely
not credible witness however the counsel for the defence left
her
evidence in court untouched.
[15]
The second witness Monyela. He testified that he has been in the
employment of the SAPS for about
13 years. On 25 June 2019 he was
attending to the complaints at the charge office of the Naledi Police
Station. At about 23H00,
He received a call from the complainant that
a suspect who was evading the arrest was at home sleeping. He
attended to complaint
and went to the plaintiff’s home. The
complainant informed him that the plaintiff is in the yard and he
went to point him
out in the outside room where plaintiff was
sleeping. Monyela informed the plaintiff that he was arresting him
for housebreaking
with intent to steal and theft. The plaintiff told
him that his uncle does not want him in his home. He took him to
Naledi Police
Station to verify the case number. The Plaintiff was
later detained in Jabulani Police Station by the investigating
officer, Baloyi.
[16]
Under cross examination, Monyela stated upon receiving a call to
arrest a suspect who was evading
arrest he first checked in the
system to see whether the case has been opened against the suspect,
whether there was a case number
and to check if the suspect has been
arrested before. At that time, he was not in physical possession of
the original docket. He
confirmed that he did not see the items that
were said to be stolen. He arrested the plaintiff based on the
complainant’s
call and in terms of the pointing out. It was put
to him that the complainant statement did not implicate the Plaintiff
but it
makes reference to him and therefore he could not have formed
reasonable suspicion for his arrest. He stated that he had seen that
the Plaintiff was indicated as a suspect. He then arrested the
Plaintiff based on what he had been told had transpired. The witness
also suggested that the Plaintiff had been reported to be evading
justice.
[17]
On re-examination Monyela was asked about the purpose of arrest. He
answers that it was to bring
the person in court and he arrested the
plaintiff because he didn’t believe that the suspect would have
gone to court.
[18]
The third witness Solly Baloyi testified that he was a police officer
in the employ of the Defendant
for about 11 years and 9 of those
years he worked as a detective. He received training in detective
courses, fraud, domestic violence
and circulation of human beings and
goods. On 22 March 2019 he received a complaint from Chief Albert
Hlomuka regarding the stolen
household items and Chief Albert
suspected the Plaintiff and Mpumelelo Dlamini. A docket was opened
and the case was assigned to
him as an investigating officer on 26
March 2019. He read the statement of the late Chief Albert and he was
convinced that the
plaintiff is the suspect.
[19]
On whether it does occur that the complainant combines two different
incidents that occurred
in different days in one statement, Constable
Baloyi stated that it does happen that the complainant can report two
different incidents
in the police and those incidents could be
recorded in one statement. Baloyi stated that after the matter was
reported he went
to the complainant’s address to investigate.
He described the property as a four-room main house, with two outside
rooms.
The main house had burglar proof and its main door was not
tampered with. The property has high walls and in his view an
outsider
cannot get access to the house. He was told by the
complainant that bedroom door of Sibongile Hlomuka was tampered with.
The complainant
had no keys to the main house. According to Chief
Albert, Mpumelelo Dlamini who lived in the same street at [....]
entered the
property with a plastic looking for the plaintiff because
he carried the items they stole from the plaintiff’s mother in
the house.
[20]
Asked about what formed the reasonable suspicion that the plaintiff
is the one who stole the
items, Baloyi stated he was informed by the
complainant that only the plaintiff and his mother who were staying
in the main house
and had keys. Also the plaintiff did not inform his
mother about the breaking in her bedroom. He was also of the opinion
that if
Dlamini stole the items he wouldn’t come with them to
the house.
[21]
Baloyi testified that he went to the house several times to arrest
the plaintiff and had not
been able to locate him because the
Plaintiff was evading the police. He went to look for Mpumelelo
Dhlamini too but he also was
evading police. He stated that Mpumelelo
had another case of theft. He stole his mother’s money from the
money market in
Shoprite. He opened the case for him. Mpumelelo’s
mother informed him that Mpumelelo is no longer staying at his home,
he
is with the plaintiff. He then advised the complainant and
Mpumelelo’s mother to inform him whenever the suspects were
seen.
He relied on them as he went to the plaintiff’s place of
residence several times without finding him. As a result of Plaintiff
evading justice, he left a pointing out notice with Chief Albert who
was also given the phone number of the police to call at any
time
whenever the plaintiff is at home. In May the docket was temporarily
closed because the suspect could not be traced.
[22]
The plaintiff’s ’s name was circulated to be arrested by
someone else anywhere in
the country. The plaintiff was detained at
12 am. He interviewed the plaintiff at 12:30 am. He booked the cell
at Jabulani Police
Station to secure his court attendance. The
plaintiff was informed of his rights, amongst them that he was
entitled to legal representation.
The plaintiff told him that he sold
the shoes to Sakhile for R200. He didn’t have the money to buy
back the shoes from Sakhile.
He took him to where he sold the shoes.
They traced Sakhile and Mpumelelo. Baloyi was convinced that the
plaintiff was involved
in the break-in in the main house. He could
not have taken him to where he sold the shoes if he was not involved.
The plaintiff
was brought to court within 48 hours. The plaintiff was
granted bail of R2000 on the date of trial. The matter was withdrawn
through
the Alternative Dispute Resolution. The plaintiff’s
mother withdrew the complaint against the plaintiff.
[23]
Under cross examination it was also put to him that he had not done
the requisite investigation
in this matter. Baloyi denies this
allegation. He stated that he attended to the property and the gates
were always locked and
the complainant did not have the keys for the
main house so he could not enter the main house to observe the crime
scene. On the
procedure of opening the docket, Baloyi stated that the
complainant opens the case, attends the crime scene and takes
statements.
He did not attend to the crime scene, his colleagues
attended it and it was not his responsibility to take fingerprints.
He never
contacted the plaintiff’s mother. It was put to him
that there was no statement apart from that of the complainant at the
time of arrest. The Plaintiff was arrested three months after the
alleged offence. There was no evidence of the said theft as he
had
not even taken the plastic bag from the complainant’s
possession. that he could not have relied on the plaintiff’s
mothers’ statement as it was taken after the arrest, he never
interviewed the Plaintiff’s mothers before the arrest.
He only
contacted the complainant. That he failed to obtain this number, he
only obtained further statements only after the arrest.
He confirmed
all these facts.
[24]
On the absence of the plaintiff’s mother from the Magistrate
court as one of the state
witnesses, the plaintiff’s counsel
put to him that he was supposed have issued a subpoena Sibongile.
Baloyi agreed that it
is his responsibility to issue subpoena to any
witness but the matter didn’t proceed to trial.
[25]
On ADR issue, Baloyi stated that Sibongile went to court on her own ,
he did not call her. Before
arrest he had no contact with her. He was
then asked, what happens when police are looking for a suspect and
they cannot locate
him. He stated that a name of the suspect is
circulated and a pointing out notice is issued. A warrant for the
arrest of the suspect
is issued but, in this case, there was no ID
number.
[26]
On reasonable suspicion, it was put to him that there was no basis
for the arrest of the plaintiff
as there was insufficient evidence
that the plaintiff had broken into the house when he was arrested.
Baloyi stated that Chief
Albert told him that he did not have the key
to the main house. He did not have access to the house. He showed him
the items he
found after Mpumelelo had left the plastic.
[27]
He was put to task about the dates upon which the carvela was stolen.
In response he stated that
if the date is not clear in the statement
that does not mean that the crime was not committed. Baloyi was asked
if he was familiar
with the standing orders regarding arrest. The
standing orders were read to the witness. He was asked why they did
not use the
warrant of arrest. Baloyi explained that he did not have
the plaintiff’s identity document. The plaintiff was invading
the
police so he issued a pointing out note instead of the warrant of
arrest.
[28]
On 26 June 2019 when the plaintiff appeared in court, Baloyi was not
in court. He left the docket
with the prosecutor. Regarding the ADR
note that appear in the docket, he explained that the docket came
back with the note.
[29]
The plaintiff’s version was put to him that the Plaintiff will
state that he never left
his place of residence since birth. The
plaintiff was to testify that he did take Baloyi to the person who
bought the shoes from
the two girls whom he had taken to his home. He
was not around when the shoes were stolen. He was not at home when
the household
items were found. His late uncle had a key to the main
house. Baloyi refuted the plaintiff’s version and stated that
the
plaintiff told him that he is the one who sold the shoes to
Sakhile. When the prison conditions were put to the witness, he
confirmed
that prison is not a place to enjoy and that the Plaintiff
must have endured those conditions.
[30]
The state closed its case. There was not re-examination. The evidence
Monyela and Baloyi was
not impressive. Monyela stated that he was not
in possession of the docket at the time of arrest. He relied on the
complainant’s
pointing out the plaintiff. The evidence of
Baloyi reveal that at the time of arrest and detention of the
plaintiff, the investigation
was not complete. He had not obtained
the statement from Sibongile Hlomla despite the fact that three
months passed before the
arrest. Baloyi had not entered the main
house before the arrest.
The Plaintiff’s
case
[31]
The plaintiff testified that he was born on in Soweto in 1987 and he
has been residing in the
same address since birth. This is the same
address where the alleged offence took place.
[32]
He testified that he does not know why the police arrested him. He
was not told of the reasons
for his arrest. Prior to his arrest he
did not know about the housebreaking and stolen household in his
place. He denied that he
evaded the police. The police did not search
for him. He slept at home every day. He could have received the
message from the tenants
that the police are looking for him. His
uncle lived in the garage and his junior brother lived in the outside
room. He lived in
the main house. The main house has four rooms, the
front door is facing the front gate and the back door is facing the
back room.
[33]
Regarding the keys to the main house, he stated that all of them
himself, his mother and his
uncle had the keys to the main house. The
main house has kitchen, dining room and 2 bedrooms, his and his
mother’s. The toilet
is outside the main house. He uses the
bedroom that was used by his grandparents. The second bedroom is used
by his mother, Sibongile,
whenever she comes home. His late uncle
lived in the garage. The door of the garage is facing the rooms and
kitchen, and the window
is facing the gate and backroom. The garage
has a roller door, which means that one cannot see the kitchen door
unless it is opened.
[34]
The plaintiff testified he obtained Matric and is unemployed. At the
time of arrest, he was not
working. He previously worked for Mazibuko
Attorneys who employed him as messenger on occasion. On other
occasions, he cuts grass
and was paid between R80-R200 per day. He
worked two days a week. His mother buys groceries for him.
[35]
Regarding the incident of the missing carvela shoe of his junior
brother Mpumelelo, he stated
that on the day the carvela shoe got
stolen, he was visited by his girlfriend and her friend. He asked his
junior brother Mpumelelo
to use his outside room in order to spend
time with his girlfriend and friend. He stated that his mother is
fine with him spending
time with his girlfriend in the main house,
but his late uncle had a problem because he did not like the fact
that he was staying
at his maternal home. He did not like him
bringing the visitors to his home whether the visitors were girl or
boys.
[36]
On the day he brought his girlfriend and her friend, he left them in
Mpumelelo’s room to
buy fat cookies. On the way he met his
friend and he asked him to accompany him to Naledi. He spent about 2
hrs with his friend.
His girlfriend and her friend left the property
whilst he was away; the gate was not locked. His junior brother
discovered that
his carvela was missing. His brother told him that
his shoe is missing and his little brother also called his mother and
told him
about the missing shoe. The plaintiff went to where the
girls were residing, he couldn’t find them but they later came
back
and disputed that they stole the shoe. His mother went to the
police with the girls. The plaintiff made an undertaking to her
mother
to investigate the matter. He later found out that the girls
sold the shoe to Sakhile who stayed in the same street with the
plaintiff.
[37]
The plaintiff was referred to the Notice of Arrest which stated that
he was arrested for housebreaking
and theft. He stated that he was
told by the police that he stole his brothers’ shoes. He was
not aware of the household
items that were stolen and was told by his
mother after his release that his late uncle saw Mpumelelo, his
friend with the plastic
with the stolen household items, but the
plastic according to his mother was now halved and when she asked his
late uncle about
the missing items from the plastic, he accused his
cousins who were in the house. His mother told him that his uncle has
a hand
in the missing items that were stolen from her room.
[38]
He testified that he was not at home when these items were discovered
by his late uncle. He was
only made aware of the household items when
he arrived and found his mother home. The day when the carvela was
stolen is not the
same day as the day when the household items were
discovered.
[39]
Regarding the arrest, he testified that he was held in the holding
cells in Jabulani Police Station.
He was interviewed by Baloyi the
detective known to him. He slept overnight in the cell and in the
morning, he went to court. In
court he was told that the bail is
R2000. He told the court that he did not have the R2000. There were
no family members in court.
He was remanded to Sun City Correctional
Services Centre. He only spoke to his mother after his release
outside court on 7 August
2019.
[40]
In prison he slept on the floor, given 1 blanket, and a very thin
dirty sponge with bugs and
holes. He was sleeping in the floor with
broken windows. With regard to food, they were given porridge in a
cup and a slice of
bread. For lunch they were fed with pap, cabbage
and boiled eggs. He didn’t have visitors to get him blankets
and food. One
could buy food and fat cakes. The toilet was situated
in the room he was sleeping in. One could see a person relieving
himself.
[41]
The plaintiff was emotional and started crying during his testimony
regarding prison conditions.
He disputed Baloyi’s version that
he told him that he sold the shoes to Sakhile. He was not familiar
with ADR. He conceded
that he took Baloyi to Sakhile to get carvela
and to take him to the girls who sold the carvela to him. Baloyi did
not tell the
truth about the girls and he did not follow up regarding
the girls.
[42]
Under cross examination, it was put to him that it was his late uncle
and his mother who reported
the case to the police and pointed him as
a suspect and he cannot now blame the police for his arrest and
detention. The plaintiff
stated that he blames the police for his
arrest because he told constable Baloyi about the involvement of the
girls in the theft
of carvela but he never investigated that. The
girls were not arrested and Sakhile was not arrested. The plaintiff
contends that
the case was not properly investigated.
[43]
Regarding the keys it was put to him that if regard is heard to the
fact that the main door to
the main house has not been tempered with
but only his mother’s bedroom, that rules out the possibility
of outside intruders.
He agrees.
[44]
He denies running away from home in order to evade police.
[45]
It was put to him that he was taken to court within 48 hours and was
granted the bail of R2000
therefore he cannot blame the police for
further detention. The plaintiff stated that he does blame the police
because they did
not investigate the matter thoroughly if one looks
at the time taken to investigate and the time of arrest. He stated
that he did
inform the prosecutor that he did not have any money.
[46]
A question was asked on the possibilities of his late uncle breaking
in the plaintiff’s
mother’s room and give Mpumelelo the
stolen items. Plaintiff did not agree with that suggestion. He stated
that his uncle
did not like that he was staying in his parent’s
home. His girlfriend and her friend came to visit for a dagga smoking
spree.
He left them to buy fat cakes for 2hrs. He questioned why
constable Baloyi did not arrest another suspect.
[47]
On re-examination the plaintiff was referred to the complainant’s
statement and asked if
the police could have formed a reasonable
suspicion. He answered in the negative. The plaintiff closed his
case. The plaintiff’s
evidence corroborated his mother’s
evidence in all material aspects .
The legal principles
Constitution
[48]
Section 12(1)(a) of the Constitution guarantees the right of security
and freedom of a person,
which includes the right ‘not to be
deprived of freedom arbitrarily and without just cause’. Tshiqi
J said in JE Mahlangu
[3]
[25] “
The
prism through which liability for unlawful arrest and detention
should be considered is the constitutional right guaranteed
in
section 12(1) not to be arbitrarily deprived of freedom and security
of the person. The right not to be deprived of freedom
arbitrarily or
without just cause applies to all persons in the Republic. These
rights, together with the right to human dignity,
[4]
are
fundamental rights entrenched in the Bill of Rights. The state is
required to respect, protect, promote and fulfil these rights,
as
well as all other fundamental rights.
[5]
They
are also part of the founding values upon which the South African
constitutional state is built.
[6]
[49]
It is trite that t
he
deprivation of liberty, through arrest and detention is
prima
facie
unlawful
[7]
.
[50]
In an action for wrongful arrest and detention, a plaintiff only
bears the onus of proving the
arrest and detention
[8]
In
Relyant
Trading (Pty) Ltd v Shongwe and another
[9]
the Supreme Court of Appeal (per Malan AJA) reiterated this position
as follows (para 6) :
‘
To
succeed in an action based on wrongful arrest the plaintiff must show
that the defendant himself, or someone acting as his agent
or
employee deprived him of his liberty.’
[51]
In
Minister
of Police and Another v Du Plessis
[10]
Navsa
ADP stated as follows:
“
Police
bear the onus to justify an arrest and detention. In
Minister
of Law and Order and Others v Hurley and Another
1986 (3) SA 568
(A) at 589E – F the following is stated:
'An arrest constitutes an
interference with the liberty of the individual concerned, and it
therefore seems to be fair and just
to require that the person who
arrested or caused the arrest of another person should bear the
onus
of proving that his action was justified in law.'
Provisions of sec 40
(1) (b) of Criminal Procedure Act
[52]
The arrest and detention have been admitted by the defendant. The
defendant relies on the ambits
of section 40 (1) (b) of the CPA
[11]
, which as a general rule permits the arrest by the police officers
without a warrant. A party who relies on this section must
prove the
existence of the jurisdictional factors as laid down in Duncan v
Minister of Law and Order
[12]
,
the
court held that the jurisdictional facts for a Section 40(1)(b)
defence are that (i) the arrestor must be a peace officer, (ii)
the
arrestor must entertain a suspicion; (iii) the suspicion must be that
the suspect (the arrestee) committed an offence referred
to in
Schedule 1; and (iv) the suspicion must rest on reasonable
grounds.
[13]
[53]
In S
v
Nel and Another
[14]
, the
court held that
“
The
test of whether a suspicion is reasonably entertained within the
meaning of section 40 (1) (b) is objective, would a reasonable
man in
the second defendant’s position and possessed of the same
information have considered that there were good grounds
of
suspecting that the plaintiffs were guilty of conspiracy to
committing robbery or possession of stolen property knowing to have
been stolen? A reasonable man must analyse and assess the quality of
the information at his disposal critically, and will not accept
it
lightly or without checking it where it can be checked.
[54]
would a reasonable man in the Baloyi’s position, possessed with
the statement from the
complainant have considered that there were
sufficient grounds for suspecting that the plaintiff was guilty of
housebreaking with
the intention to steal? The defendant Sergeant
Monyela, an arresting officer who carried out physical arrest on
behalf of Baloyi
did not have to have reasonable suspicion to arrest
the plaintiff because he was on tracing duty and he received
instructions from
the charge office to go and arrest the suspect. The
defendant relied on the matter of the Minister of Justice v Ndala
[15]
for its submission that the arresting officer who carried out the
arrest on behalf his superior does not have to form reasonable
suspicion before arrest, It is his superior that must form the
reasonable suspicion.
[54]
In Duncan v Minister of Law and Order
[16]
,
Van Heerden JA explained that once the jurisdictional requirements of
s 40(1)(b) of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 (the
CPA), are
satisfied, the peace officer may, in the exercise of his discretion,
invoke the power to arrest permitted by the law.
However, the
discretion conferred by s 40(1) of the CPA must be properly
exercised, that is, exercised in good faith, rationally
and not
arbitrarily. If not, reliance on s 40(1) will not avail the peace
officer.
[55]
The jurisdictional fact for an arrest are present in this matter, the
defendant bears the onus
to justify the arrest. It is important for
this court in determining the justification of the arrest by the
defendant to analyse
the circumstances of arrest whether under the
circumstances of this case it meets the test as laid above in the
case above. I now
deal with the facts;
55.1 Defendant became
aware of the case of the housebreaking with intent to steal and theft
against the plaintiff as early as the
22nd March 2019, the arrest
took place on the 26
th
June 2019 approximately 3 months
after the alleged incident.
55.2
Before the arrest Baloyi only relied on the
statement of the complainant and his interview with the complainant
who informed him
that he suspected that plaintiff was the one who
broke in and stole the items at Sibongile’s room, and that it
was Albert
who raised a suspicion that plaintiff and Mpumelelo were
suspected to be the ones who committed the offence. Baloyi explained
that
he formed the reasonable suspicion when he attended the crime
scene and found that it has high walls and that the main door in the
main house was not tampered with in addition with the information
that only the plaintiff and his mother had keys to the main house.
He
was then of the view that the no outsider was involved in the
housebreaking and theft.
55.3
Although he was aware that the complainant
was not the owner of the household items alleged to have been stolen
by the plaintiff,
he never interviewed the plaintiff’s mother
before the arrest. The items were recovered. The carvela shoe was not
stolen
on the day Mpumelelo was seen by the complainant carrying the
plastic with household items.
55.4
The explanation given by the police
regarding the amount of investigation made to entertain the suspicion
is not satisfactory. A
peace officer is supposed to avail himself of
any information at his disposal, this cannot be said to have been
done in the present
case.
55.5
The evidence of Sibongile did not
corroborate the statement made by his brother Albert and regarding
her statement of 27 June 2019
cannot be said to have been part of the
statements which led to entertainment of the suspicion as she only
made a statement after
the arrest of the plaintiff.
55.6
Defendant had not even placed before the
court any reason as to why they did not apply for a warrant of
plaintiff’s arrest
in particular because they had an ample time
to do so.
55.7
As much as the housebreaking with intent to
steal and theft fall within the offences laid out in schedule 1,
there were no facts
that supported reasonable suspicion that
plaintiff was involved in the commission of the schedule one offence.
[56]
Lowe J said in Mahleza
[17]
“
It
is trite that police officers purporting to act in terms of Section
40(1)(b) of the Act should investigate exculpatory explanations
offered by a suspect before they can form a reasonable suspicion for
the purpose of lawful arrest.
[18]
It is expected of a reasonable person to analyse and weigh the
quantity of information available critically and only thereafter,
and
having checked what can be checked, will he form reasonable suspicion
that will justify an arrest.
[19]
.The defendant contends that the plaintiff did not give any
exculpatory statement to the arresting.
All
the above is of course subject to the discretion to arrest as
explained in
MR
v Minister of Safety & Security
[20]
.
In short police officers are never obliged to effect an arrest, when
all the jurisdictional factors are present, in the conduct
of their
discretion whether to do so or not.
[21]
”
[58]
Having considered the evidence of defendant’s witnesses, I am
of the view that there were
no facts that would have supported
reasonable suspicion. The police only relied on the complainant’s
statement. Baloyi failed
to exercise his discretion on the detention
of the plaintiff even after he interviewed him . In my view the
defendant has failed
to justify the arrest. The arrest was therefore
unlawful.
Unlawful
Detention -Plaintiff’s pleaded case
[58]
The plaintiff’s pleadings were not a model of clarity. However,
the unlawful detention
was argued before me despite the fact that it
was not elegantly pleaded. The particulars of claim in relation to
detention reads
as follows:
“
Subsequent to the
wrongful arrest, the plaintiff was taken and detained at Naledi
Police Station on the 27
th
of June and was subsequently transferred to Sun City Prison on the 27
June 2019 for incarceration whilst awaiting trial.
[22]
The matter was withdrawn
by the State on 07
th
of August 2019 at Protea Magistrate’s Court due to lack of
evidence.
[23]
At all relevant times the
Police officers who unlawfully and wrongfully arrested and kept the
Plaintiff were members of the South
African Police Services and they
were acting in the course of their employment with the defendant, and
at the time when they unlawfully
and wrongfully arrested and detained
the Plaintiff.
[24]
The Defendant is liable
to compensate the Plaintiff by virtue of being the employers of the
police who effected the unlawful and
wrongful arrest and detention
and they are still employed by it and has failed to ensure that its
employees are properly trained
to carry out lawful investigations and
detain correct suspects.
[25]
As a result of the
aforesaid negligence by the police officers, failure by the Defendant
to provide proper training to its employees,
its failure to interfere
and take correct actions, the plaintiff suffered General Damages in
the amount of R2 000 000.00(
Two
Million Rands
).
[26]
[59]
In Minister of Police v Mahleza
[27]
, a full court Judgement of the Eastern Cape Division, the court held
that
“
Where
a suspect has been unlawfully arrested and detained before being
taken to court, he has two separate claims against his arrestor.
The
one is for his unlawful arrest and the other for his unlawful
detention.
[28]
Those claims
should be separately pleaded. It is trite that, in respect of the
arrest, all that a plaintiff is required to plead
is that he was
arrested. In respect of the detention, it would be sufficient for him
to plead that he was detained”
[60]
The defendant contends that the case of the unlawful arrest in the
first period is dependent
upon the failure by the authorities to
establish that the arrest was lawful. On the second period the
legality of detention is
dependent upon the lawfulness of the court
and its orders. He places his reliance on Sekhoto.
[61]
The defendant denies liability for the period of detention after the
plaintiff’s first
court appearance. The defendant contends that
plaintiff was brought to court in less than 48 hours. He was granted
bail of R2000
on his first day and was remanded to custody due to his
inability to pay bail. The police did not take interest in what
happens
to the plaintiff on his first appearance and they were not
dishonest with the court processes. Baloyi did not foresee that the
bail would be set at R2000 and that the plaintiff will be unable to
pay bail or his family will be unable to pay. These events should
be
viewed as intervening events that broke the chain of legal causation.
Discussion
[62]
Having determined that the arrest was unlawful, it follows that the
detention prior the court
appearance is unlawful. I must now
determine whether the defendant can be held liable for the period
after his first appearance
in court. It is common cause that after
the arrest the plaintiff was processed and was brought to court
before 48 hours. On his
first appearance the plaintiff was afforded
an opportunity to apply for bail. Bail was fixed at R2000. He was
remanded to custody
because he failed to pay bail amount.
[63]
The principles in relation to the liability of the police post court
appearance were neatly summarised
as follows in
De Klerk’s
case:
63.1 The deprivation of
liability, through arrest and detention, is
per
se
prima
facie
unlawful
[29]
.
63.2 Every deprivation of
liberty must not only be affected in a procedurally fair manner but
must also be substantively justified
by acceptable reasons.
63.3 a remand order by a
magistrate does not necessarily render subsequent detention lawful
but what matters is whether substantively,
there was a just cause for
the later deprivation of liberty’
63.4 In cases of
this nature, the liability of the police for detention post court
appearance should be determined on an applicable
principle of legal
causation, having regard to the applicable tests and policy
consideration. This may include a consideration
that will serve as a
measure of control to ensure that liability is not extended too far.
63.5 Every matter
must be determined on its own facts. There is no general rule that
can be applied dogmatically in order
to determine liability.
[64]
Theron J writing for the majority stated as follows:
“
In cases like
this, the liability of the police for detention post-court appearance
should be determined on an application of the
principles of legal
causation, having regard to the applicable tests and policy
considerations. This may include a consideration
of whether the post-
appearance detention was lawful. It is these public policy
considerations that will serve as a measure of
control to ensure that
liability is not extended too far
. The conduct of the police after
an unlawful arrest, especially if the police acted unlawfully after
the unlawful arrest of the
plaintiff, is to be evaluated and
considered in determining legal causation
. In addition, every
matter must be determined on its own facts there is no general rule
that can be applied dogmatically in order
to determine liability.”
[65]
This matter hinges on causation being the element to be ventilated in
this matter.
[66]
The parties agree that I must determine this matter on the element of
causation.
[67]
Causation has two elements: factual causation and legal causation.
Factual causation is the classical
application of the
causa
sine qua non or “
but
for” test. if had it not been but for X, the wrongful conduct
of the wrongdoer, then Y the harm would not have happened.
Therefore,
if Y is contingent on the occurrence of X, then factual causation is
established.
[30]
[68]
Nugent JA in
Minister
of Safety and Security v Van Duivenboden
[31]
,
in development of the test aptly stated that
“
A
plaintiff is not required to establish the causal link with certainty
but only to establish that the wrongful conduct was probably
a cause
of the loss, which calls for a sensible retrospective analysis of
what would probably have occurred, based upon the evidence
and what
can be expected to occur in the ordinary course of human affairs
rather than an exercise in metaphysics”
[69]
Regard being had to the “but for test” , I am of the view
that but for the unlawful
arrest of the plaintiff ,the plaintiff
would not have been brought to court , thus remanded to custody due
to inability to pay
the bail amount . The plaintiff has in my view
established the factual causal link between the harm he suffered and
the conduct
of the police.
[70]
Now I consider whether the plaintiff has established legal causation.
For the defendant to be
held liable for the plaintiff’s
detention after his first appearance in court, the plaintiff is
required to show that he
sustained harm and that the harm was caused
by a wrongful and intentional act (or failure to act) on the part of
the defendant
or his employees.
In
Nohour
and Another v Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development
[32]
the court held that:
“
In order to
prevent the ‘chilling effect’ that delictual liability in
such cases may have on the functioning of public
servants, such
proportionality exercise must be duly carried out and the
requirements of foreseeability and proximity of harm to
the action or
omission complained of should be judicially evaluated.”
[71]
The plaintiff was arrested unlawfully by sergeant Monyela at about
23:30 on 25 June 2019 and
was processed by an investigating officer
at about 00.00 on the 26 June 2019. At 12:30, he was interviewed and
a statement was
obtained from him. At 12:55 he was booked out for a
pointing out. At 1:10 he was charged by the investigating officer. He
was detained
until his first appearance in court on 27 June 2019.
[72]
The Magistrate court transcript shows that the plaintiff was afforded
the opportunity to apply for bail. It is recorded that
the
plaintiff’s legal rights were explained and he understood and
elects to defend himself. Provisions
Section 60(11)(B)
of the
Criminal Procedure Act and
Sec 68
and all the penalties explained and
he understands. It is recorded that the plaintiff had no pending
cases. The prosecutor submitted
that the bail be fixed at R2000, the
value of the property is R4000. It is further recorded that there was
no comment from the
accused regarding the bail money. The presiding
magistrate therefore ruled that bail is fixed at R2000.
[73]
The plaintiff testified that during the bail hearing he told the
court that he was unemployed
and he could not afford the bail amount.
The matter was withdrawn by the State on 7 August 2019. It is
recorded that the matter
was sent for informal Alternative Dispute
Resolution.
[75]
The defendant contends that there is no nexus between the police
conduct and the further detention of the plaintiff post-court
appearance. The submission further states that this matter is
distinguishable from the De Klerk in that the police did not
influenced
the court’s decision . What happened in court in
this matter was an unexpected, unconnected and extraneous causative
factor.
He did not foresee that the plaintiff would be granted bail
at R2000 and will be unable to pay bail money, thus bail proceedings
constitute an intervening factor that broke the legal causation
chain.
[76]
Eksteen AJA in
Minister
of Police & Another v Muller
[33]
summarised the legal
causation as stated in De Klerk as follows:
“
What
emerges from the various judgments in
De
Klerk
is that one half of the court
considered that a deliberative judicial decision in respect of the
further detention of the arrestee
constitutes an intervening act
which truncates the liability of the police for the wrongful arrest
and detention. The remainder
considered that it may do so, but not
necessarily. Theron J summarised the applicable principles thus:
‘
The
principles emerging from our jurisprudence can then be summarized as
follows. The deprivation of liberty, through arrest and
detention, is
per se prima facie unlawful. Every deprivation of liberty must not
only be affected in a procedurally fair manner
but must also be
substantively justified by acceptable reasons. Since Zealand, a
remand order by a Magistrate does not necessarily
render subsequent
detention lawful. What matters is whether, substantively, there was
just cause for the later deprivation of liberty.
In determining
whether the deprivation of liberty pursuant to a remand order is
lawful, regard can be had to the manner in which
the remand order was
made.’
[34]
”
[77]
In determining whether the defendant is liable for further detention
I must evaluate the conduct
of Baloyi after the unlawful arrest.
Baloyi testified that he never participated in the court proceedings
except that he went to
court on the day in question to deliver the
docket to the prosecutor. He explained when the matter is in court he
does not get
involved unless he gets subpoenaed. I don’t agree.
The police’s involvement includes the obligation to disclose
all
relevant factors to the prosecutor. The police don’t just
“dump” the docket on the prosecutor leaving the
prosecutor
to decide whether to prosecute or not. They are obliged to
provide the prosecutor with the facts relevant to further detention
of the accused.
[78]
In JE Mahlangu and Another v The Minister of Police
[35]
the police unlawfully arrested Mr Mahlangu and Mr Mtsweni and
tortured them with the aim of obtaining confession from them. When
the plaintiff appeared in court, they failed to disclose that it was
their conduct that led to the further detention. The Constitutional
Court held at paragraph 40:
[40]
In
Botha
[36]
the Court stated:
“
It
is also trite law that in a case where the Minister of Safety and
Security (as defendant) is being sued for unlawful arrest and
detention and does not deny the arrest and detention, the onus to
justify the lawfulness of the detention rests on the defendant
and
the burden of proof shifts to the defendant on the basis of the
provisions of section 12(1) of the Constitution. . . .
These
provisions, therefore, place an obligation on police officials who
are bestowed with duties to arrest and detain persons
charged with
and/or suspected of the commission of criminal offences, to establish
before detaining the person, the justification
and lawfulness of such
arrest and detention.
This, in my view,
includes any further detention for as long as the facts which justify
the detention are within the knowledge of
the police official. Such
police official has a legal duty to inform the public prosecutor of
the existence of information which
would justify the further
detention. Where there are no facts which justify the further
detention of a person, this should be placed
by the investigator
before the prosecutor of the case and the law casts an obligation on
the police official to do so. In
Mvu v Minister of
Safety and Security
Willis J held as follows:
‘
It
seems to me that, if a police officer must apply his or her mind to
the circumstances relating to a person’s detention,
this
includes applying his or her mind to the question of whether
detention is necessary at all.’
It
goes without saying that the police officer’s duty to apply his
or her mind to the circumstances relating to a person’s
detention includes applying his or her mind to the question whether
the detention is necessary at all. This information, which
must have
been established by the police officer, will enable the public
prosecutor and eventually the magistrate to have an informed
decision
whether or not there is any legal justification for the further
detention of the person.”
[37]
(Footnotes omitted.)
And in
Tyokwana
the
Court reasoned:
“
[T]he
duty of a policeman, who has arrested a person for the purpose of
having him or her prosecuted, is to give a fair and honest
statement
of the relevant facts to the prosecutor, leaving it to the latter to
decide whether to prosecute or not.”
[38]
At
paragraph 43 the court stated that:
“
It is now
trite that public policy is informed by the Constitution.
[39]
Our Constitution values freedom, and understandably so when regard is
had to how before the dawn of democracy freedom for the majority
of
our people was close to non-existent. The primacy of “human
dignity, the achievement of equality and the advancement of
human
rights and freedoms” is recognised in the founding values
contained in section 1 of the Constitution. Section 7(1)
of the
Constitution provides that the Bill of Rights “enshrines the
rights of all people in our country and affirms the democratic
values
of human dignity, equality and freedom”. These constitutional
provisions and the protection in section 12 of the right
of freedom
and security of the person are at the heart of public policy
considerations.
[79]
In this case the investigating officer dumped the docket without
informing the prosecutor that
the household items that the plaintiff
is alleged to have stolen were recovered. Baloyi also failed to
inform the prosecutor that
the plaintiff made a statement regarding
the carvela shoe. In his statement the plaintiff stated that the shoe
was bought by Sakhile
for R200. He went looking for it and Sakhile
needed his R200 that he bought the shoe with back. In this statement
the plaintiff
does not state that Sakhile bought the shoe from him.
In his testimony, the plaintiff stated the circumstances upon which
the shoe
was lost. His evidence was corroborated by the state
Witness, Sibongile Hlomla. Baloyi’s investigation was not
complete as
he had not taken any statement from Sibongile Hlomuka,
Sakhile , Mpumelelo Dlamini and others. I am of the view that if this
information
was given to the prosecutor, the plaintiff was going to
be released on warning. Baloyi failed to give a fair and honest
statement
of the relevant facts to the prosecutor in order to make an
informed decision of whether to prosecute or not. The defendant
should
be held liable for the entire period of detention.
[80]
The defendant contends that the plaintiff’s failure to bail
coupled with his failure to
alert the court that bail of R2000 will
be beyond reach for him should be viewed as an intervening event as
it was not foreseen
by the defendant.
[81]
Regard being had to the fact that an enquiry was conducted as to
whether it was in an interest of justice
to release the plaintiff on
bail, equally, the Magistrate was mandated to conduct an enquiry as
to the ability if the plaintiff
to pay bail as enjoined by Section
60(2B) (a) (1). The transcript does not show that this was done.
Setting the bail amount beyond
reach of the suspect/accused person
violates his rights in terms of s 35(1) (f) of the Constitution. The
Magistrate failed to consider
the personal circumstances of the
accused regarding the affordability of bail amount. Had the court
considered the personal circumstances
of the plaintiff it would have
been satisfied that he could not afford the set amount. This led to
the plaintiff’s detention
for 6 weeks on the basis that he is
an indigent. Had Baloyi informed the public prosecutor of the
relevant facts. The results were
not going to be the same.
[82]
Having considered the matter and the case law, I am of the view that
public policy as informed
by the Constitution and the principles set
out in De Klerk’s case, the defendant is liable for a period
for the whole period
of the plaintiff’s detention.
Quantum
[83]
Regarding the quantum in these matters, Tshiqi J in Mahlangu said:
“
It
is trite that damages are awarded to deter and prevent future
infringements of fundamental rights by organs of state. They are
a
gesture of goodwill to the aggrieved and they do not rectify the
wrong that took place. In
Seymour
,
[40]
the
Supreme Court of Appeal encapsulated the purpose of
damages and said:
“
Money
can never be more than a crude solatium for the deprivation of what
in truth can never be restored and there is no empirical
measure for
the loss.”
[41]
And
then in
Tyulu,
[42]
the
Court re-affirmed it as follows:
“
In the assessment
of damages for unlawful arrest and detention, it is important to bear
in mind that the primary purpose is not
to enrich the aggrieved party
but to offer him or her some much-needed solatium for his or her
injured feelings. It is therefore
crucial that serious attempts be
made to ensure that the damages awarded are commensurate with the
injury inflicted. However, our
courts should be astute to ensure that
the awards they make for such infractions reflect the importance of
the right to personal
liberty and the seriousness with which any
arbitrary deprivation of personal liberty is viewed in our law. I
readily concede that
it is impossible to determine an award of
damages for this kind of injuria with any kind of mathematical
accuracy. Although it
is always helpful to have regard to awards made
in previous cases to serve as a guide, such an approach if slavishly
followed can
prove to be treacherous. The correct approach is to have
regard to all the facts of the particular case and to determine the
quantum
of damages on such facts.”
[43]
[84]
The plaintiff testified of the prison conditions I will not repeat
them. The defendant objected
that the condition of the prison be
taken into consideration as they were not pleaded. The plaintiff
applied for the amendment
of particulars of claim to include the
conditions of prisons. I am inclined to grant this amendment.
[85]
I have considered the many comparable cases. In J E Mahlangu and
Another
[44]
awarded an amount
of R550 000 and R 500 000 to the first and second plaintiff
who were detained for eight months and
10 days having been accused of
murder of their relative. The plaintiff in this case were tortured
and were humiliated.
[86]
In Manyoni v Minister of Police
[45]
and others, the plaintiff was awarded an amount of R600 000 plus
interest. He was detained for 8 months in prison.
Order
[87]
In the circumstances, I make the following order
1.
The
Second defendant is ordered to pay the applicant an amount of
R500 000 to the plaintiff as damages.
2. Interest at 7.5 % from
the date of judgement.
3.
The Second defendant to pay Costs of suit.
FLATELA
LULEKA
ACTING
JUDGE OF THE HIGH COURT
This
Judgment was handed down electronically by circulation to the
parties’ and or parties representatives by email and by
being
uploaded to CaseLines. The date and time for the hand down is deemed
to be 10h00 on 25 March 2022
COUNSEL
FOR PLAINTIFF
: Adv
Karabo Mvubu
INSTRUCTED
BY
: Yonela Bodlani Inc.
Email
:
info@yonelabodlaniattorneys.co.za
COUNSEL
FOR DEFENDANT :
Adv EB Mafoko
INSTRUCTED
BY
: Ramsurjoo Keshnee
The State Attorney;JHB
Email
:
keshneer@gmail.com
HEARD
ON
:
18 -22
October 2021
DELIVERED
ON :
25 March 2022
[1]
Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977
[2]
Minister of Law and Order v Hurley
1986 (3) SA 568 (A)
[3]
JE Mahlangu and Another v Minister of Police [2021]
[4]
Section 10 of the Constitution states that every person has inherent
dignity and everyone has the right “to have their
dignity
respected and protected”.
[5]
Section 7(2) of the Constitution. Note too that section 7(1)
provides that “[t]his Bill of Rights is a cornerstone of
democracy in South Africa. It enshrines the rights of all people in
our country and affirms the democratic values of human dignity,
equality and freedom”.
[6]
Section 1(a) of the Constitution states that “[t]he Republic
of South Africa is one, sovereign state founded on the following
values” including, “human dignity, the achievement of
equality and the advancement of human rights and freedoms”.
[7]
Zealand v Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development
2008
(2) SACR 1
(CC) ,
2008 (4) SA 458
,
2008 (6) BCLR 601
;
2008 ZACC 3
para 22.
[8]
Matsietsi
v Minister of Police
(A3103/2015)
[2017] ZAGPJHC 29 (20 February 2017)
[9]
[2007]
1 ALL SA 375 (SCA)
[10]
2014 (1) SACR 217
(SCA) at paragraphs 14 – 17.
[11]
Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977
[12]
1986 (2) SA 805 (A).
[13]
At 818H-I; See also
Minister
of Safety and Security v Sekhoto and Another
2011 (5) SA 367 (SCA).
[14]
1980
(4) SA 28
(E) at 33H
[15]
1956
(2) SA 777
(T) at 780
[16]
1986
(2) SA 805
(A) at 818G-H
[17]
Mahleza v Minister of Police
2020 (1) SACR 392 (ECG)
[18]
Louw
& Another v Minister of Safety and Security & Others
2006
(2) SACR 178
(T);
Liebenberg
v Minister of Safety and Security
[2009]
ZAGPPHC 88 (18 June 2004).
[19]
Mabona
and Another v Minister of Law and Order and Others
1988 (2) SA
654(SE)
[20]
2016 (2) SACR 540
(CC) at [40] – [48]
[21]
Cf
Sekhoto
supra
[22]
and
MR
supra
at
[57]-[65].
[22]
Para
5 of Pariculars of Claim
[23]
Para
5 of the POC
[24]
Para
6 of the POC
[25]
Para
7 of the POC
[26]
Para 8 of the POC
[27]
[28]
MR v
Minister of Safety and Security
2016 (2) SACR 540
(CC) at para 39.
[29]
Zealand v Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development
2008
(2) SACR 1
(CC) ,
2008 (4) SA 458
,
2008 (6) BCLR 601
;
2008 ZACC 3
para 22.
[30]
Corbett JA writes this neatly
in
International Shipping Company (Pty) Ltd. v Bentley
(138/89)
[1989] ZASCA 138
at 65:
‘
The
enquiry as to factual causation is generally conducted by applying
the so-called ‘but for’ test, which is designed
to
determine whether a postulated cause can be identified as a
causa
sine qua non
of the loss in question. In order to apply this
test one must make a hypothetical enquiry as to what probably would
have happened
but for the wrongful conduct of the defendant. This
enquiry may involve the mental elimination of the wrongful conduct
and the
substitution of a hypothetical course of lawful conduct and
the posing of the question as to whether upon such an hypothesis
plaintiff’s loss would have ensued or not. If it would in any
event have ensued, then the wrongful conduct was not a cause
of the
loss;
aliter,
if it would not have ensued.”
[31]
2002
ZASCA 792
[32]
2020
ZASCA 27
[33]
2019]
ZASCA 165
[34]
De
Klerk
para
62.
[35]
2021 (7) BCLR 698
(CC) (14 MAY 2021).
[36]
Botha v
Minister of Safety and Security, January v Minister of Safety
Security
2012
(1) SACR 305 (ECP).
[37]
Id at paras 29-30.
[38]
Tyokwan
a
above n 8 at para 40. See also
Prinsloo
v Newman
1975
(1) SA 481
(A) at 492G and 495A. In
Carmichele
above
n 39 at para 63, it was held that the police have a clear duty to
bring to the attention of the prosecutor any factors known
to them
relevant to the exercise by the magistrate of his discretion to
admit a detainee to bail.
[39]
Barkhuizen
v Napier
[2007] ZACC 5
;
2007 (5) SA 323
(CC);
2007 (7) BCLR 691
(CC) at para
57. See also
Beadica
231 CC v Trustees for the time being of the Oregon Trust
[2020] ZACC 13
;
2020 (5) SA 247
(CC);
2020 (9) BCLR 1098
(CC) at
para 87.
[40]
Minister
of Safety and Security v Seymour
[2006] ZASCA 71
;
2006 (6) SA 320
(SCA).
[42]
Minister
of Safety and Security v Tyulu
[
2009]
ZASCA 55
;
2009 (5) SA 85
(SCA).
[44]
2021
ZACC 10
[45]
[2021] ZAGPJHB 84 (24 June 2021)
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