A former assistant boilermaker who was wrongly accused has received a court order to get R3.3 million from the police minister.Images-Image: Twitter/SAPoliceService/Canva/PxHere
Boilermaker WRONGLY jailed wins R3.3 Million from police minister
Once a boilermaker, Mdunyazi Mtolo found himself accused of housebreaking and vehicle theft. With no way to prove his innocence, he was locked him away for nearly three long years.
A former assistant boilermaker who was wrongly accused has received a court order to get R3.3 million from the police minister.Images-Image: Twitter/SAPoliceService/Canva/PxHere
Mdunyazi Mtolo, a former assistant boilermaker, faced accusations of burglary and car theft. Failing to prove his innocence, Mtolo spent three years behind bars.
In this period, he was shuffled between various police stations and ended up in the Pietermaritzburg New Prison.
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Bail was denied, and the evidence against him was ‘nonexistent’ according to IOL.
Boilermaker wrongly jailed and denied bail
He stayed in custody without bail until June 2013 when they dropped the housebreaking charges. In June 2014, while still in jail, they also withdrew the vehicle theft charges.
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Nathi Mthethwa led the SA Police Service (SAPS) when Jacob Zuma was president. Bheki Cele was the National Police Commissioner until his suspension in October 2011.
Judge J Mossop, who replaced acting Judge AJ Naidu, discovered that police and state witnesses had lied in Mtolo’s bail hearings.
He concluded there was no evidence against the assistant boilermaker for housebreaking or car theft.
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Furthermore, the police claimed he was arrested in the stolen car, but he was actually apprehended at work, in front of his colleagues, causing them to wrongly perceive him as a criminal.
Court orders for R3.3 Million compensation
Mossop determined that Cele, in his role as Police Minister, had to compensate Mtolo with R3,367,200.
This sum included R3 million for defamation and wrongful imprisonment due to a malicious arrest and detention, R300,000 for damage to dignity, reputation due to malicious prosecution, and R67,200 for lost income.
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“Interest will accrue on the mentioned R3.3 million from the date of summons service until the final payment date.
The defendant is responsible for the plaintiff’s legal fees at the attorney-client rate,” Mossop stated.
