Police brutality towards a Pretoria High Court judge’s clerk, who was arrested and tortured, is due to cost the taxpayer dearly.
|||Police brutality towards a Pretoria High Court judge’s clerk, who was arrested and tortured – not because he was a suspect, but to assist the police in their efforts to locate his cousin who was a suspect – is due to cost the taxpayer a lot of money.
Opulent Lesiba Molopa is claiming R2.5 million from the minister of police and from John Jones, the policeman who investigated the case against him. The amount he will receive will be determined at a later stage.
The Pretoria High Court ruled that the minister was liable to compensate Molopa for any damages he may prove to have suffered as a result of his unlawful arrest and the police assault on him.
The minister, together with the investigating officer, were liable for the damages he had suffered while in jail for three months before all charges against him were dropped.
The events which led to Molopa’s nightmare ordeal were sparked by the death of a certain Mr Feng, who on May 2, 2007, was fatally wounded when robbers broke into his Edenvale home and shot him. One of the alleged robbers, one Surprise, was wounded in the shoot-out and later died in the Thembisa Hospital.
On the same night as this incident, one Gideon, a cousin of Molopa, was admitted to the same hospital for a gunshot wound. Gideon discharged himself the next day and the police were unable to locate him afterwards.
About two weeks later, on May 15, 2007, SAPS officials raided Molopa’s Atteridgeville home. He was arrested and the house was searched for firearms, but none could be found.
Molopa earlier testified that that about 11 cops came to the house and demanded that he hand over his firearms. They also wanted to know where Gideon was. They would not listen to his explanation that he did not have firearms and did not know where Gideon was.
He said they tied his hands behind his back and took him to a deserted open veld where he was severely assaulted. According to him he was suffocated with a plastic bag over his head, slapped and kicked and the police threatened to shoot him. He said they also threatened to cut off his private parts with a bolt cutter. The assault lasted about an hour.
His lawyer testified that when he visited Molopa at Edenvale police station, he was seriously injured, but the police refused to take him to a hospital. He was taken to court two days later where he was charged with murder and robbery, and was denied bail.
He was then taken to the Boksburg Prison, which at first refused to take him in due to his injuries. He was only admitted after the police took him to a hospital. Back at prison, he was immediately admitted to the prison hospital, where he remained for three months.
He was then released following a successful bail appeal. Charges were dropped against him two days later.
Judge Hennie Lacock said there could be no denial that Molopa was assaulted between his home and when he was placed in a cell at the Edenvale police station. Both his lawyer and another witness saw his injuries. He said the minister was thus liable for damages in this regard, as he was assaulted by SAPS members in the course of their employment.
The judge said the 32-year-old Molopa was an honest witness who had a clear recollection of the ordeal he was subjected to by the SAPS. The arresting officer, a warrant officer Beukes, on the other hand was a pathetic witness who blatantly lied about Molopa’s assault in his presence, the judge said. “He adjusted his evidence whenever the shoe pinched.”
The judge held Jones responsible for Molopa’s failed bail (before it succeeded on appeal) as he found this cop tendered false evidence during Molopa’s bail hearing to prevent his release on bail. The judge said this cop knew the magistrate would rely on his evidence for purposes of considering bail.
According to the judge it is clear from the evidence that Molopa was never a suspect in the Feng murder and robbery and that the only reason why he was arrested, was to enable the police to find their real suspect, Gideon.
Pretoria News