Cape Town - A Cape Town man is planning to sue the police and prison authorities after he was allegedly wrongfully arrested and forced to spend three traumatic months in the country’s most notorious jail.
The 49-year-old says he was falsely accused in a robbery and, one year after his release from Pollsmoor Prison in Tokai, he still cannot sleep at night.
Solile Ncamele from Phumlani Village, near Grassy Park, claims in
November 2015 he was mistaken for one of a gang that had robbed China Town in Ottery.
With tears streaming down his face, he said the arrest had left him with a mountain of debt.
“I was never in prison and never in trouble with the law, but this, this is your worst nightmare,” he sobbed.
“I was with my wife in China Town in Ottery,
shopping for her trip to the
Eastern Cape. I then put her on a bus in Stock Road and did some more shopping,” he explained.
Two days later, police arrested him at his job at the Cape of Good Hope SPCA in Grassy Park, where he is a general worker.
“Police came to my work and arrested me during my night shift. At Grassy Park SAPS, a detective told me I was a suspect in a robbery,” he said.
“The detective had a picture from CCTV footage of me walking in China Town with my work uniform on,” he said.
He said his wife contacted a lawyer, who allegedly told them that police “could not be wrong”, and he was taken to Pollsmoor Prison.
“I tried to appoint another lawyer, but no one wanted to take the case as it was the end of the year,” Solile said.
He said the three months in Pollsmoor were “hell”.
“The food given in there was old. One could smell it was off. I even got food poisoning.
“I was thrown into a cell with 90 to 120 hardcore criminals. There were times when people wanted to hurt me, but I paid them off with whatever money I had,” he said.
He said one inmate started harassing his wife after he used his cellphone.
“That same prisoner started SMSing my wife asking for money, pretending to be me.
“One had to buy cigarettes, airtime and anything just to use the phone, or pay R150 to get a bed in that cell.
“It was horrible, I still struggle to sleep.”
During all this time, he was not called to appear in court once.
His nightmare ended three months later.
“On 4 January 2016, I was let go, with officials saying ‘sorry, it was not you’, and that they wrongfully arrested me,” he said.
“My family has gone through hell, as I was the sole breadwinner. My policies lapsed because I was not working.
“A new lawyer my wife got still has to be paid, as we could only pay half of his R30 000 fee.
“I want to take action for this wrongful arrest as it has damaged my life and I need help to do this.”
Spokesperson for the Department of Correctional Services, Simphiwe Xako, however, says they have no record of Solile’s incarceration.
“Our officials at Pollsmoor correctional facility have searched all over our prison distributions at Pollsmoor. We don’t find any records of offender Solile Ncamele,” Xako said on Wednesday.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Andre Traut said due to possible legal action, he could not comment on the matter.
“Due to the individual’s intention to pursue the
matter with a civil claim against police, this office will not be in a position to offer you a comment until this process has been
finalised,” Traut said.