The offices of Minister of Police Senzo Mchunu and that of National Director of Public Prosecutions Shamila Batohi have been slapped with a R680 000 bill for wrongful arrest and prosecution.
Thabo Lentoro, of Rustenburg in the North West, was awarded the settlement after the Mahikeng High Court ruled that police failed to follow proper procedures in serving him a protection order, which led to him spending 14 horrific days in police detention.
Lentoro was arrested on December 1, 2020.
He was accused of violating a protection order obtained by his father’s partner, Francinah Rachel Montsho.
The court ruled that the protection order was not served according to standard procedure and that Lentoro was unaware of its terms.
In court documents, Lentoro described his detention as inhumane, saying he was denied medical treatment for his asthma and forced to sleep on the floor in overcrowded conditions.
He also claimed the ordeal led to him losing his job and experiencing severe emotional
distress.
He also claimed that he received a variation of either bread or samp that was not cooked properly daily and the food caused him stomach aches, and his complaints were ignored by police officers.
“The plaintiff had to sleep on the floor and was not given a blanket or a sponge. The cell was small and overcrowded.
“Some of the detainees were fighting, and the cell was noisy. There was no privacy, especially when using the toilet.
“On most days, there would not be any water, and the toilet would be used without flushing. The smell was pungent, causing the plaintiff to believe that he could not breathe properly,” acting judge D Smit said in his judgement.
Sergeant David Kgokong admitted during the trial that he had served the order to arrest Lentoro over the phone, which was not a legally valid method.
Smit said Kgokong had rushed the arrest because the telephonic serving of the
interim protection order was improper.
Smit said Kgokong had to further investigate the allegations surrounding the contravention of the protection order to ensure that Lentoro was aware of it, considering that he had been hospitalised and was told over the phone.
“No evidence has been presented that this final protection order was served on the plaintiff. Kgokong acquiesced that this protection order was in fact not served on the plaintiff.
“The plaintiff informed me that upon his discharge from hospital on 4 December 2020, he visited the police station to enquire about a possible protection order, which was sparked by the telephone call from Kgokong,” the judgment reads.
Lentoro’s ordeal continued when he was prosecuted for violating the protection order.
The court further found that the prosecution had charged Lentoro under the Domestic Violence Act instead of the Protection from Harassment Act, which governed the case.
Smit found that the prosecution had failed to verify whether the protection order had been properly served and ignored crucial legal requirements.
Lentoro was acquitted on February 17, 2022, after spending over a year facing criminal charges.
Mchunu and Batohi’s offices have been instructed to carry the legal costs for Lentoro.
Mchunu revealed in a written response to questions in parliament last year that the total number of delictual claims pending against the SAPS until the end of June 2024 stood at 43 954, “in respect of alleged recklessness, negligence, and misconduct cases”.
He further revealed that as a result of the claims, the SAPS could payout an estimated R65 billion to settle the claims.
