A Soweto man has successfully sued the police minister after he was wrongly arrested for allegedly having drugs when police searched him and found only a box of matches.
Happy Hlomuka, 50, was kept overnight in a prison cell and released the next morning without even appearing in court.
According to the judgment of the high court in Johannesburg, Hlomuka was walking with two friends in Rockville, Soweto, in October 2014 when he was arrested.
He was stopped, searched and accused of possessing dagga before being taken to Moroka Police Station, where he was detained from about 8pm until the next morning.
Hlomuka described harsh conditions in custody, telling the court he was held with about 17 other detainees in a filthy cell.
“The toilet was leaking. As a result, the floor was wet. The blankets in the cells were smelly and full of mucus and sperm. The toilet pot itself was full of faeces.”
He said he did not sleep and spent the night sitting on a cement bunk in the cell.
Hlomuka was not married and lived with his sister at their parental home in Rockville, Soweto, with one child. He also testified that it was not the first time he had been arrested.
Judge Motsamai Makume found that the arrest was unjustified and poorly handled despite Hlomuka not providing physical evidence or witnesses to his arrest.
“The only evidence in support of the plaintiff’s claim based on loss of dignity and shock is the condition of the cells in which he was kept. There is clearly sufficient evidence … placed before me that the cell had 17 other detainees and that they slept crammed like sardines, in a smelly cell with water leaking from a toilet full of faeces.
“The arrest of the plaintiff was, in my view, arbitrary, in that the police officer who effected the arrest did not see to it that he appeared in court with proper documents explaining why he was under arrest. There is also the submission by counsel for the minister that no docket could be found connecting the plaintiff to any offence,” said Makume.
While Hlomuka initially claimed R450,000 in damages, his counsel submitted that an amount of R120,000 should be awarded.
However, Makume said compensation must be reasonable and based on the circumstances.
“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.”
The judge said there was nothing exceptional about the plaintiff’s standing in the community, which could be said to have affected his dignity and reputation.
“His only concern is that the government must reprimand the police. I agree with the plaintiff in that regard. The image of the police in the public has been seriously dented as a result of how some of them have gone about executing their duties,” said Makume.
Makume settled on R150,000 as a reasonable amount.
“I have come to that conclusion because the defendant had no version, not only in their plea, but also no statement from the policeman who effected the arrest. The plea, which is a bare denial, is, in my view, an abuse of the court process,” said the judge.
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