Court ordered damages for a man who unlawfully spend 54 days behind bars. File picture
THE police minister must pay a man with no move R800 000 in damages after he was arrested on a charge of raping a neighbour’s child.
The man, who is not identified to protect his dignity, turned to the KwaZulu Natal High Court, sitting in Pietermaritzburg, where he claimed damages for his unlawful arrest and 54 days behind bars.
The court turned his claim for malicious prosecution down against the NPA, as it reasoned that the charge was withdrawn against him before the prosecution proceeded.
The 26-year-old man, however, had to remain in jail even though the investigating officer was told by his father that he had no genital, after his penis was severed years ago when he was 12 years old.
During his first appearance in court his father came to court and told the investigating officer that his son had been kidnapped in Soweto in 2013 and his genitals had been emasculated.
The investigating officer, however, did not investigate the father’s version, nor did she inform the prosecution about it. She simply kept mum and it was only after spending nearly two months in jail, that a doctor eventually examined him and confirmed that he had no genitals.
The court accepted that he did not commit the rape and noted that he never even received an apology from the police, nor an explanation as to why he was arrested. Instead, the police did not even bother to pitch at court to explain themselves, the court said.
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