Bummer for cops as
victim wins lawsuit
2015-08-11 13:46
Pretoria - A man
who was shot in the buttocks and thrown in the boot of a car by members of the
South African Police Service has received R500 000 in damages, the Pretoria
News reported on
Tuesday.
The High Court in Pretoria has awarded
34-year-old Patrick Xaba of Bronkhorstspruit the claim after he was falsely
detained by police, among other things.
Xaba was reportedly waiting for a friend
on the side of a road in Zebediela, Limpopo in July 2011 when the incident took
place.
According to the report, police had
allegedly been waiting for Xaba in his friend’s car, before confronting him and
shooting him in the buttocks. Police then interrogated him about allegedly
stealing groceries and airtime.
Despite his denials, Xaba was handcuffed
and thrown into the boot of his friend’s car to be questioned by people in the
area.
When the police realised they had arrested
the wrong suspect, they reportedly took him back to the scene and placed an
unlicensed firearm in his hand, photographing him.
Xaba's lawyer argued in court this was
done to defend the police officers' actions, the Pretoria News reported.
He was then taken to hospital and kept
under police guard for three weeks.
Xaba’s lawyer claimed damages on his
behalf on the grounds of the shooting, as well as for unlawful arrest and
detention, ending a four-year ordeal.
Xaba’s story is not the only long-running
saga of police brutality to attract headlines this month.
The case involving Mozambican taxi driver
Mido Macia is currently being tried in the High Court in Pretoria, News24 reported.
Nine police officers were arrested after a
video emerged in 2013 of Macia being dragged behind a police van through the
streets of Daveyton on the East Rand.
Macia was confronted by two policemen for
obstructing traffic with his taxi.
In June, judges of appeal in
Pietermaritzburg upheld a decision to award R95 000 in damages to each of three
women who were illegally arrested, detained and maliciously prosecuted in
Kwandengezi, Pinetown in 2009, The Witness reported.
(File, Nielen de Klerk, News24) (Nielen de Klerk)
