An Eastern Cape man who was arrested while preparing for a traditional ceremony and later told by police that “his ancestors have told him to go home” has successfully sued the minister of police for more than R250,000.
Mthatha high court acting judge Nkele found that the man’s arrest and detention were unlawful and without reasonable grounds.
The court ordered the police minister to pay R140,000 for unlawful arrest and detention and R120,000 for malicious prosecution, as well as the costs of the suit.
The man, who cannot be named because the charge involved the alleged rape of a minor, was arrested on August 17 2023 at his home in Willowvale while preparing for a traditional ceremony.
He was released six days later, on August 23.
Nkele ruled that police either did not have sufficient information to form a reasonable suspicion or failed to properly consider the facts before arresting him.
The plaintiff had instituted a civil claim of R825,000 against the minister in 2023.
The police ministry filed a plea in November 2024, but the court later found it to be irregular and noncompliant with the Uniform Rules of Court.
In a judgment delivered on March 11 2025, Nkele noted that the minister had been granted leave to amend the plea within 30 days — but failed to do so.
“Despite the court order directing the defendant to amend the plea within 30 days, the defendant failed to do so.
“As a result, the plaintiff set the matter down for default judgment on September 17 2025, and the defendant was notified accordingly,” Nkele said.
The man testified that on the day of his arrest, while collecting items in a forest for the upcoming ceremony, he received a call from a police officer saying that officers were waiting for him at his home.
When he arrived, he found a white double-cab bakkie and several officers.
“I asked them what the problem was, and they told me they had come to arrest me for having raped my stepdaughter,” he said.
He told the court he was shocked, as the girl had left the homestead when she was 10 years old and he had not seen her for seven years.
He asked to complete the ceremony and report to the station the following Monday, but his request was refused.
The arrest took place in full view of relatives and community members who had gathered to help with preparations.
He was detained at the Willowvale police station until his court appearance on August 23.
“The condition at the holding cells was horrifying,” he testified.
“The blankets were very dirty and infested with lice which were going up and down my body, such that I had to continuously scratch myself nonstop.
“The food was half-cooked porridge and cold weak tea.”
He said that on the day of his court appearance, while waiting in the holding cells, a police officer told him that “his ancestors have told him to go home”.
He was then released without appearing before a magistrate.
In her ruling, Nkele found that the arrest was conducted without a warrant, placing the burden on the police to prove that it was lawful.
“Once the plaintiff alleges that the arrest and detention were effected without a warrant, the onus shifts to the defendant to prove the lawfulness of the arrest and resultant detention,” she said.
“As there was no plea filed, the matter was set down for default judgment. There was no version put up by the defendant to justify the arrest and detention of the plaintiff.”
Nkele said the defendant “was nowhere to be found for purposes of discharging the onus that rests with him”.
“That therefore leaves me with no other option but to come to the inevitable conclusion that both the arrest and the consequent detention of the plaintiff were an unlawful deprivation of liberty which was totally unjustified,” she said.
“There was no reasonable basis for even entertaining a suspicion that an offence had been committed in the factual circumstances of this case.
“Their decision to arrest and detain therefore fails the reasonableness test.”
Police had not responded to questions by the time of publication.
Daily Dispatch
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