The minister of police has been ordered to pay Lesego Girlie Motlhaolwa and her partner Mpunzie Nobandla each R275,000 in damages after they were wrongfully arrested at their home in 2018 and held in custody for a week.
North West high court judge Mickey Mfenyana ruled on Friday that their arrest and detention from March 27 2018 to April 3 2018 was unlawful, and ordered the minister to also pay the costs of their legal battle.
The court heard that Motlhaolwa and Nobandla were lovers. On the night of March 27 2018 at about 10pm they were at home when a convoy of 10 police vehicles with blue lights arrived at their house. The police officers told them that they were there to “catch a killer”.
Motlhaolwa testified that a man identified as officer Legodi entered the house and informed them that they were under arrest for murder. She said they both co-operated and handed themselves over to the officers who took them to the Mahikeng police station, leaving their children behind without adult supervision. The couple had no idea of details relating to the alleged murder they were arrested for.
On their way to the police station the convoy drove around and picked up some other suspects linked to the murder, but who were unknown to the couple.
They were booked in at the Mahikeng police station where Motlhaolwa was detained in the women’s section and Nobandla in the men’s cells. They were held in custody for a week and then taken to court on April 3. At about noon they were both released and told they were free to go because the public prosecutor had declined to prosecute.
Motlhaolwa told the court that her arrest had been extremely public — that there had been 10 police vehicles with blue lights flashing. Many people had seen the commotion at the house and had seen her being taken into custody for murder.
She had been held in a dirty cell with little running water. The toilet did not flush and she had to use a two-litre bottle to fetch water from the shower to flush. There were four women in the cell and the blankets they were given were smelly. She was fed only two small, bland meals a day while she was in custody.
She told the court the arrest had caused her to be seen as a killer by her neighbours and community. She contended that she suffered emotional shock but had not sought any medical attention for trauma.
Nobandla said he had been watching TV and was about to go to bed when the police arrived.
He gave a similar account of being driven around, witnessing more arrests, then being locked in the cells. He told how neighbours had come out to watch the arrests.
He said he was detained with about 15 other inmates, the cell was filthy and though the toilets were in working order they had no doors. He only felt comfortable using them at night with someone holding a blanket up for privacy.
The cell was unhygienic, he had no soap or toothpaste and no blankets for the whole duration of his detention as other inmates had taken them all.
Nobandla said he was assaulted and bullied every night by other inmates who asked him for money and cigarettes. He was also instructed to do chores for other inmates. He later learnt that the bullying was because he was not part of the “Zisebenzi” gang. Others tied bottles of water to his private parts, mocking him and telling everybody that he was a killer.
When such constitutional breaches happen without justification at an extravagant use of state resources, merely for pomp and show, it is even more indefensible.
— North West high court judge Mickey Mfenyana
He said he had food on only three of the seven days he was in custody as the gang members took his food from him. At one stage he witnessed an inmate being ill-treated , and was terrified they would do the same to him. He told the court the arrest caused him emotional shock and trauma.
The SAPS closed its case without calling any witnesses and did not deny any of the allegations made by the couple.
Mfenyana found that the police had gone to extreme lengths to carry out the arrests, but had not justified the delay in bringing the couple to court or releasing them from detention.
In considering a fair amount for damages, she said the deprivation of the couple’s liberty was a direct consequence of them being unlawfully arrested and detained by the police and this was inexcusable.
“When such constitutional breaches happen without justification at an extravagant use of state resources, merely for pomp and show, it is even more indefensible,” she said.
“I have also taken note of the manner in which the police descended on the plaintiffs’ home, late at night, in a fleet of 10 police vehicles. Surely, they ought to have considered that this would spark an interest in the members of the community and cause a spectacle? Not only is this humiliating to the plaintiffs, but it was also unnecessary.”
She said social status cannot be used as a dominant factor to determine what is deserved by a plaintiff whose rights have been infringed, nor can it be used as a tool of oppression, “especially not in the hands of the very courts that are there to ensure their rights are vindicated”.
Weighing up all the factors, Mfenyana said she believed that R275,000 each was a reasonable award for the two.
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