Elderly man wrongfully arrested for child rape to receive R1. 5 million in damages

IOL News

2 days ago

Imprisoned for more than 16 months on a charge of rape which he did not commit, an elderly man is now due to receive R1.5 million from the police as compensation for his harrowing ordeal.
Image: File
An elderly Mpumalanga man, who was falsely accused of raping a child and had to spend more than 16 months in jail under harrowing circumstances, before the charge was withdrawn against him, is set to receive R1.5 million in damages from the police.
The now 70-year-old, only identified as MM, turned to the Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg, where he claimed R30.3m in damages. This was calculated at R60,000 a day for approximately 505 days.
To make matters worse, MM was only released from prison a month after the charge was withdrawn against him. The police failed to either inform him or the prison authorities immediately after his name was cleared.
MM told the court that upon his release, he faced stigma in his community and even in his home village in Mpumalanga, where people viewed him as a child molester. This reputational damage continues to affect him and, in all likelihood, will continue to do so, Acting Judge RC Thackwell remarked.
He was arrested at his home on suspicion of having raped a minor. He was detained first at Primrose Police Station and subsequently at Boksburg Prison.
It had emerged that the investigating officer simply glanced at the case docket and had no concrete evidence that MM was a suspect. Judge Thackwell said the law requires that before making an arrest, an officer must do more than simply form an initial suspicion.
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'The suspicion must be reasonable when viewed objectively. Practically, this means the arresting officer needs to take concrete steps to validate their initial suspicion by investigating the essential elements and facts potentially relevant to the particular offence.' The judge added that suspicion alone is insufficient.
The plaintiff testified that he was at his home in Marathon Squatter Camp, while he was engaged in his business of selling cooked meat from his home premises. The police arrived at his home accompanied by a woman and a child. The mother of the child accused him of raping the minor. The plaintiff stated that he did not know either the woman or the child prior to this encounter.
MM, meanwhile, provided a harrowing account of his time in detention. He described being housed in a cell with approximately 60 other inmates in unsanitary conditions where toilets were frequently blocked. He witnessed violence among inmates, including the stabbing of an inmate who was next to him and another inmate being struck on the head with a blunt object. He also stated that the food was inadequate.
Speaking on how this nightmare ordeal impacted him, MM testified that people in his community viewed him differently, with some referring to him as dangerous to children. He lost his business, and the family had to sell his car to make ends meet.
The duration of his detention is exceptionally long for a case where the charges were ultimately withdrawn, and there was no real evidence identified in support of those charges, the judge noted, in awarding him R1.5m in damages.