Police minister ordered to pay Ceres man R150 000 over unlawful arrest
A Ceres man has been awarded R150,000 after the Western Cape High Court found his arrest and detention by police were unlawful. The court also found officers used unreasonable force, but did not accept the full extent of the assault alleged.
The Western Cape High Court has ordered the Minister of Police to pay R150,000 in damages to Khumbulani Zengethwa, a Ceres man, due to an unlawful arrest and detention in 2018. On August 18, 2026, Acting Judge SC O’Brien ruled that the police could have handled the situation differently, such as issuing a fine instead of arresting Zengethwa.
The court awarded him R50,000 each for unlawful assault, arrest, and detention. The Minister of Police had already admitted liability for the unlawful arrest and detention. The incident occurred on May 23, 2018, when Zengethwa was stopped for an apparent minor infraction and subsequently arrested. He testified that officers grabbed him, hit him, and kicked him before detaining him in a cell.
However, cellphone and CCTV recordings showed a more restrained confrontation, with Zengethwa resisting officers attempting to restrain him. The court found that his accounts of the injuries and assault were inconsistent, reducing their reliability. Although Zengethwa claimed permanent hearing loss, orthopaedic injuries, and psychological consequences, the court did not accept the evidence for these long-term effects.
The R150,000 award covered the damages for unlawful assault, arrest, and detention, as well as legal costs, expert and interpreter expenses, and costs from a January 2025 postponement. Interest will accrue on the damages if payment is not made within 14 days of the judgment.
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