Crimes of the South African Police Service

Knysna Police Commissioner To Challenge R100000 Judgment

Previous page30th September 2008

Knysna's police station commissioner, Senior Superintendent Mzimkulu Hardy, is to challenge a judgment in which he was ordered to pay R100000 to a junior colleague for defaming him.

Hardy was ordered on August 20 to pay R100000 to Inspector John Watson, who said in a civil court action that he had suffered loss of reputation and humiliation when the station commissioner made a criminal case against him, but the state failed to prosecute for lack of evidence.

A lawyer acting for Hardy has lodged an application to the court to rescind the judgment on the grounds that he was not given a full 20 days to enter notice to defend the action, as is required by law in legal cases against an agent of the state.

Watson was awarded a default judgment 19 working days after Hardy was served with the summons.

Watson‘s lawyer, Dave Heggie, earlier submitted that Hardy had been acting in his personal capacity, not as an agent of the state, when he charged Watson with contraventions of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act.

By Katherine Wilkinson

www.theherald.co.za

http://www.knysna.co.za/knysna-police-commissioner-to-challenge-r100000-judgment_article_op_view_id_3929