A man who was wrongly arrested for contravening a protection order and forced to clean the holding cells during his eight days in custody, is set to receive R220,000 in damages from the police.
Stanley Khorae turned to the North West High Court, sitting in Mahikeng, following his nightmare ordeal when he was arrested and had to spend behind bars. He told the court that in October last year, two police officers arrived at his home. One of the officers showed him documents claiming that he had contravened an interim harassment order.
The interim order was earlier obtained by Khorae’s late neighbour, Ncongne Moses Moleko. Khorae then asked the police what had transpired to the charge of assault, which he had registered against Moleko for having stabbed him with a knife. Khorae said instead of answering him, he was arrested and placed at the back of the police van. This arrest was executed in the presence of his life partner and their three small children.
On arrival at the Huhudi Police Station, the plaintiff was charged with contravening the protection order. He was then transported to Pudimoe Police Station (which was approximately 30 kilometres away from his home). Here he was detained with seven other detainees. As the only detainee from Huhudi, the plaintiff was forced to clean the cell and wash the blankets. He told the court that his meal portions were also confiscated by the fellow detainees. He was only allowed to eat in the evenings.
The holding cell in which the plaintiff was detained was subdivided into a back area which served as the sleeping area. Positioned here was an open toilet which was not fully functional. Once flushed, water overflowed from the bowl onto the floor. When this occurred, Khorae was forced to clean it up.
The front area of the cell, he explained, was known as the control room. In the control area, it was permissible to exercise at specific times.
Elaborating on the inhumane conditions, he testified that there were no proper facilities to bathe and he used the wash basin to maintain personal hygiene. According to Khorae, he was not provided with a mattress and he used two blankets to sleep on the cell floor.
Nothing became of the charge against him, and after eight days, he was told to go home. The police never refuted these allegations in court.
In deciding on how much damages to award, the court pointed out that our Constitution values freedom. Judge Andrew Reddy said this is understandably so with regard 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 the Constitution… These constitutional provisions and the protection of the right of freedom and security of the person are at the heart of public policy consideration,” he remarked.
The judge concluded that R220,000 is fair compensation for the humiliation Khorae had to endure.