CAPE TOWN - The Police Ministry will have to cough up more than R900 000 to two women wrongfully arrested and detained in 2015, the Gauteng High Court ordered this week.
According to court documents, Vuyokazi Morwanqana and Nomatamzanqa Matshaka met each other by “a cruel twist of fate” at the bus terminus at Park Station in Johannesburg on October 3, 2014, while on their way to their respective hometowns in the Eastern Cape and about to board the same bus.
Morwanqana was eight months pregnant at the time, hauling heavy luggage when Matshaka, seeing her difficulty, came to her aid.
“They then spent some time in each other’s company whilst waiting in the queue for their bus to arrive. This random act of kindness by the second plaintiff, unfortunately, and regrettably, turned out with dire consequences for the pair.
“Also at the bus terminus at the time was the complainant in a robbery charge, which dated back to Monday, 27 January 2014. On that day, the complainant had been robbed of cash and other valuables worth about R30 000 by two ladies, who seemingly fitted the description of the two plaintiffs – the one small and petite and the other of a bigger build. This incident happened in Centurion and occurred some eight months prior to the dramatis personae in this matter encountering each other at Park Station,” said Judge Leicester Adams in his judgment.
The women, after being approached by police, were astounded by this accusation and told police officers at the bus terminus that they did not even know each other.
“The police officers at Park Station conducted a mini enquiry by requesting one of the plaintiffs to call the other’s cell number, which, for the police, confirmed that they did not know each other. The one’s cell number did not register as a contact on the other’s cell phone,” court documents read.
However, the complainant in the robbery charge was unsatisfied with the outcome at the bus terminus as she was convinced Morwanqana and Matshaka were the women who had stolen from her.
The complainant contacted her husband, who, in turn, communicated with the Wierdabrug Police Station, where the charge of robbery had initially been laid, which resulted in the pair being hauled off the bus by the police’s flying squad unit and arrested at Vanderbijlpark.
The women faced a charge of robbery, and after making court appearances days after their arrest, were released on R2000 bail.
“The Minister (Bheki Cele) admits that the plaintiffs were arrested without a warrant but denied that it was wrongful or unlawful. He contended that the arrests had been effected in terms of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 as they were reasonably suspected of having committed an offence,” court documents read.
The charges against Morwanqana and Matshaka were eventually withdrawn ostensibly because the complainant was not co-operative and had not gone to court to give evidence.
“In sum, I am of the view that the arresting officer acted unreasonably, which means that the arrest and detention was unlawful. They were traumatised, understandably so. The cell was dirty, and the ablution facility was disgusting. Although they were offered something to eat at about 8pm on the Friday night, both of them were not able to eat due to the stress,” Adams said.
Adams ordered that Morwanqana and Matshaka each be compensated with R240 000 and R290 000, respectively, with the applicable legal rate of interest of 9% per annum since their arrest in 2015.
Enquiries to the police ministry had not been answered by deadline.
Cape Times