One of the accused in instigating the July 2021 unrest has been given back all her gadgets after threatening court action.
The Pretoria News recently reported that the 36-year-old, known as Sphithiphithi Evaluator on social media, had demanded through her lawyer Godrich Gardee that law enforcement returned her cellphone or face court action.
Sphithiphithi Evaluator has since announced that all her gadgets had been returned to her. In a tweet, she acknowledged her attorney Gardee who represented her during the “drama”.
She tweeted: “After all the drama, trauma on innocent people, unlawful arrest; media headlines; defamation; all to unmask people they thought were linked/paid by politicians, they found nothing.
“@GardeeAttorneys fighting tirelessly, day and night. Not even an apology! Last gadget returned.”
Sphithiphithi Evaluator, whose real name is known to the Pretoria News, claimed that about 10 plain clothed police officers last year stormed into her house in Ekurhuleni and confiscated about 20 of her communication gadgets, including those of her children, before arresting her.
The items included cellphones, laptops, memory sticks and iPads.
The police had returned 19 of the 20 gadgets except her personal cellphone and SIM card, prompting her to turn to her lawyer who wrote a letter demanding the return of her phone by April 11.
Speaking to the Pretoria News, Sphithiphithi Evaluator said she was relieved that her cellphone was returned to her home on Wednesday afternoon, but questioned why the items were confiscated in the first place.
“I feel relieved even though there were no substantial reasons given to seize all 20 gadgets in the first place.
“Why were items like wi-fi routers, memory sticks, laptops and other phones not belonging to me seized?”
She said even though all the gadgets were returned to her fully functionally she was not sure if they were bugged or had been installed with spy software.
“I have handed the gadgets in to be checked for any bugs or unknown software,” she said.
Although all her gadgets were returned, Sphithiphithi Evaluator vowed to continue with court action, suing the police for millions after she was allegedly arrested unlawfully, kept inside a dark cell for two days and forced to reveal the pin codes of her electronic devices.
She is suing for loss of income, trauma and public humiliation, among others.
The mother of two from Ekurhuleni, who has been critical of President Cyril Ramaphosa on social media, was charged with incitement to public violence following the unrest which erupted in KwaZulu-Natal and parts of Gauteng. This was after the arrest of former president Jacob Zuma.
She added: “The State will be sued, the Minister of Police (Bheki Cele) in his personal capacity and any publications/journalists that reported false information about Sphithiphithi Evaluator and revealed sensitive information that violated my rights that are protected by the Constitution.”