Police minister ordered to pay Cape Town politician R300,000 for wrongful arrest

Taxpayers will have to fork out R300,000 after the high court held the minister of police responsible for the wrongful arrest of a Cape Town politician. 

Nceba Sandlana, 48, was attending his brother's murder trial in the high court in Cape Town in August 2014 when a police officer arrested him and charged him with intimidation. This after the sister of the deceased, whose murder Sandlana’s brother was being tried for, complained he had threatened her and that she feared for her safety. The woman told the police she had heard from a friend that a video of her sitting in court was being circulated on WhatsApp and that Sandlana had shot the video. 

Sandlana and the woman lived in Gugulethu and were “aligned to different political parties and had a history of disagreement”. When asked to provide the threatening video, the woman said “her friends were reluctant to get involved as they were scared of [Sandlana]”.  

Sandlana was hauled before court the following day and remanded while his details about previous convictions and pending cases were verified. He was released on R500 bail eight days later. The case was struck off the roll during his next appearance due to the investigating officer’s “slackness” and that spelt the “end of the abortive criminal prosecution”.  

Sandlana then sued the police minister for wrongful arrest and detention. The high court ruled in his favour this week.  

Sandlana testified that after his arrest, he was kept in a filthy cell at the Cape Town Central police station “where he was in the company of a dozen drunks and a handful of hardened criminals”.  

“But his experience in the cells pales in significance when compared to his detention in the awaiting-trial section of Pollsmoor prison. His graphic evidence in that regard constitutes a shocking indictment of the appalling state of South African prisons,” judge Patrick Gamble said in his judgment.  

Sandlana testified he was confronted by a “hardened gangster belonging to one of the notorious ‘Numbers Gangs’ who operate with unbridled impunity” on his way to Pollsmoor. He was “deprived of his shoes and belt even before he arrived at Pollsmoor”.  

He was kept in a crowded holding cell overnight. He said he was “fortunate to have medication for treatment of his chronic asthmatic condition”. Sandlana was then moved to a “sleeping cell” where he shared a blanket on the floor with other prisoners who did not have a gang affiliation. He testified that 76 people shared a cell with 20 beds.  

“[He] is no shrinking violet,” the judgment reads. 

“He is a self-confident man who is actively involved in local politics in Gugulethu where he is well-known as a volunteer and liaison officer in community organisations and struck the court as someone who is both astute and street-smart. He readily acknowledged that he had been arrested before on criminal charges and had spent trial as an awaiting-trial prisoner, all on charges which had ultimately been withdrawn.” 

Gamble said Sandlana was overcome with “enormous shame and grief” when reliving his encounter at Pollsmoor.  

“It is clear that so many years after the event, the emotional scars of [Sandlana’s] experience of this unlawful arrest still run deep.” 

Sandlana sued the police minister for R300,000.  

“In the result, I am satisfied that a damages award in the amount of R300,000 would be fair and reasonable to both parties,” Gamble ruled.  

“Interest will run on the aforesaid amount at the prescribed rate from date of this judgment until date of payment.”  

The police minister was ordered to pay the legal costs.  

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