No drugs found, man assaulted: Soweto resident awarded R200 000 in damages

A Soweto man who spent two days in police cells without appearing in court has been awarded R200 000 in damages after the High Court found that police had unlawfully arrested and assaulted him.

The Johannesburg High Court ordered the police minister to pay Nqobile Shabangu R150 000 for his unlawful arrest and detention, and a further R50 000 for assault.

The court also ordered the police to pay interest at 9% per year.

Arrested after friends fled

Shabangu was walking with two friends in Mofolo Central, Soweto, on 29 July 2017, when two police minibuses stopped beside them. His friends ran away, but he remained at the scene.

He told the court that Constable Eric Mokoena searched him but found nothing. When Shabangu refused to get into the police vehicle, Mokoena allegedly struck him on the back of the head with a firearm, causing him to fall.

Shabangu said officers then kicked him, handcuffed him tightly and placed him alone in the back of a minibus. He said he only learnt that he was being arrested for drug possession during the drive to Moroka Police Station.

Two days behind bars

At the police station, Shabangu was placed in a holding cell and denied a phone call to his family.

He said he was given a dusty, itchy and bloodstained blanket, while his bleeding wounds went untreated.

He remained in custody from Saturday afternoon until Monday, 31 July 2017. Although he was taken to the Protea Magistrate’s Court, he was never brought before a magistrate and was released.

The following day, he went to Lenz Clinic to receive medical attention.

Police version rejected

Mokoena told the court he had received information from an unidentified source that Shabangu had drugs.

He said Shabangu fled, resisted a search, and that officers found four parcels of Mandrax in his trouser pocket.

But Judge Tebeile found the police had failed to prove the arrest was lawful.

The judge said the source’s identity, reliability and basis of knowledge were never established, while Mokoena gave conflicting accounts – first saying the source mentioned dagga, then testifying that he found Mandrax.

The court also noted that the police report did not record that the alleged drugs were Mandrax.

Assault proven

The medical report recorded superficial abrasions on Shabangu’s head and wrists, as well as lacerations and bruising to his right leg.

The court found that these injuries were consistent with his account that he was hit with a firearm, kicked and tightly handcuffed.

Mokoena denied assaulting Shabangu but admitted that force had been used to handcuff him.

Why the court awarded R200 000

The court said compensation for unlawful arrest and detention is intended to compensate the person whose liberty was taken away, not to enrich them.

It considered the 48-hour detention, the poor cell conditions, the denial of a phone call and the failure to provide medical care.

For the assault, the judge considered the head and wrist injuries, the stitches and painkillers, and the fact that the assault happened during an unlawful arrest.