A man kept in a tiny cell for six months and 19 days under harrowing conditions and without a shred of explanation from the police as to what he had supposedly done wrong is due to receive more than R1 million in damages from the police (the taxpayer).
The North West High Court, sitting in Mahikeng, ruled that the police were liable for damages suffered by Modise Pholo.
In deciding how much was a fair amount, Judge Sandiswa Mfenyana concluded that R725 000 for unlawful arrest and detention was fair.
The state also has to pay Pholo a further R154 000 for future medical expenses as he was so traumatised by his nightmare experience that he has to receive counselling.
Pholo was arrested and detained in October 2019 and only released on May 11, 2020. He thus had to spend a portion of his incarceration under the Covid-19 lockdown.
The SAPS initially issued the court with a notice that it would defend the multimillion-rand claim which Pholo had instituted, but counsel for the SAPS never pitched at court to defend the matter.
Pholo claimed a total of R3m from the SAPS – R1.1m for unlawful arrest and detention spanning about 200 days, and R1.9m for emotional and psychological trauma, loss of employment and freedom, inconvenience, humiliation and injury to dignity.
Pholo testified that on October 23, 2019, he reported at the Wolmaranstad police station to sign in as he had been granted bail in a different matter, in accordance with his bail conditions in that matter.
On arrival, he was told that the SAPS could not find the document he was required to sign and that they would look for it. He was later told that there was another docket against him. When he asked what it was about, he was told “you know what you have done”.
Pholo was arrested and told that “he knows too much”, without any further explanation. He was arrested and detained without a warrant. It was only when he appeared in court that he learnt that he had been charged with fraud.
Two bail attempts were unsuccessful, as the SAPS told the magistrate that he had nine pending cases against him. Pholo said that was entirely wrong, as he only had one case against him. He remained in custody for more than six months, before he was simply told he was free to go home.
Regarding the condition of the cell and the circumstances of his detention at Wolmaranstad police station, Pholo testified that the cell was about 3m in size, with 18 inmates occupying it.
He had no mattress and no blanket. The cell was dirty and not habitable.
The toilet was leaking to an extent that the water flowed to where they were sleeping.
All he received to eat was bread and tea. There was no reading material and no gym equipment for him to exercise.
Things did not change much when he was transferred to the Potchefstroom prison, and although the cell there was bigger, it was occupied by 62 inmates. He was bullied by the other prisoners and had to sleep on the floor.
He related an incident when he was cleaning the cell, when an inmate pressed an electric wire against the metal frame of the bed, electrocuting him. He was saved by another detainee, who kicked him away from the bed.
He was allowed 30 minutes of exercise a day.
When the Covid-19 lockdown was announced, he was still in detention. He stated that there was no social distancing, masks or sanitisers.
A clinical psychologist testified that the situation was so dire that Pholo now – more than three years later – suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder for which he needed ongoing treatment.
Pretoria News