A North West woman who was unlawfully arrested and detained must be compensated to the tune of R50 000 by the Minister of Police after the Supreme Court of Appeal increased her compensation amount this week.
The victory in her case, however, comes after the complainant died and was represented in court by the executor of her estate.
The successful appeal came after the aggrieved woman appealed against a court order by the North West Division of the High Court, Mahikeng, which instructed she be paid R15 000 by the minister.
According to the court record, the complainant was arrested on November 11, 2019, at about 6pm when she was at her home in Stella, North West province, while she was with her partner.
“She was arrested with her neighbours looking on, which embarrassed and humiliated her. She was put in the back of the police van in which there was a rifle. The police drove at high speed through potholes and in the darkness to the police station. She experienced pain in her right leg due to an old injury she had sustained. She was frightened,” the judgment read.
It was revealed to the court that the complainant was arrested without a warrant and was allegedly arrested for stolen property. She was transported to and detained at the Pudimoe police cells.
According to the record, the complainant was released the next day on warning at about 3pm. During court proceedings, the Police Minister’s counsel conceded liability.
“(She) was not given food or water. The police cells were filthy and dusty, and the toilet was not working. She was detained in a cell where she had to sleep very close to the toilet bowl. There was no mattress. The blankets she was given were dirty, and as a result, her body itched. Although she was alone in the cell, there were male detainees in a cell close by.
“They could see her and insulted and hurled profanities at her. She had no privacy. She was not allowed to leave the police station to use the bathroom privately. She was not offered a chair to sit on. She sat on a toolbox-like structure,” the court record noted.
Police did not explain why they did not use any of the other methods provided for in Section 38 of the Criminal Procedure Act to secure her attendance at court and why they had to resort to following the extreme measures: arresting her publicly, transporting her in the back of a police vehicle, detaining her for a day-and-a-half in a police cell, approximately 98.7km away from her home.
In judgment, Judge Baratang Mocumie said: “If all the peculiar circumstances of this matter are taken into account, and considering the comparable cases the high court referred to, damages between R50 000 and R500 000 were awarded, with the period of detention ranging between three months and 24 hours.
“There is no justifiable reason why the high court awarded R15 000. The disparity between the amount awarded by the high court and what is considered an appropriate award is striking. That justifies interference with the high court’s award.
“On the undisputed facts, the arrest in itself was undoubtedly malicious, and the execution thereof despicable and humiliating,” said Mocumie.