'Police brutality victim’ claims P850,000
Lebogang Mosikare | Tuesday May 9, 2023 06:00
The plaintiff, Oteng Moilwa, wants the AG to pay him P250,000 for assault, P100,000 for disfigurement and permanent disability, P250,000 for unlawful arrest and detention, and P250,000 for invasion of privacy and wrongful search.
When Moilwa appeared before Justice Bengbame Sechele on Friday, a medical practitioner, Dr Toto Mununeodehwa, who attended to Moilwa after he was allegedly assaulted by some Sebina police officers on March 11, 2016, told the court that the applicant was brought by the police but he was walking on his own.
Dr Mununeodehwa said he examined the plaintiff on the chest, heart, and lungs after he complained of pains following an alleged assault by police officers but he found no abnormality. When questioned by the plaintiff’s attorney Kagiso Jane, Dr Mununeodehwa stated that he did not find any bruises or abrasions on the body of the plaintiff.
Dr Mununeodehwa stated that he then gave Moilwa painkillers to relieve his pains because he was complaining of muscle pains. Dr Mununeodehwa said that he examined Moilwa on March 15, 2016. Asked by Jane if it is possible for abrasions and bruises not to show four days after someone claims that he was assaulted by the police, Dr Mununeodehwa answered in the affirmative.
When cross-examined by Tholego Monthe from the AG, Dr Mununeodehwa said the bruises and pains may disappear in four days but if it is a major injury like a wound, it will take more than four days to heal. The first defence witness, Banana Gobela refuted that Moilwa was assaulted by the police in her presence. Gobela stated that she accompanied the police to Oteng’s place after Richard Mushango and Robson Moilwa told the police in her presence that they ate some of the stolen food items at Oteng’s place after they were stolen from Gobela’s tuckshop.
Mushango, Robson and another person were implicated in the break-in at Gobela’s tuckshop after Mushango’s mother saw a beMOBILE (now BTC) subscriber identity module (SIM) card in her home. Mushango’s mother suspected that the SIM card may be one of the items that were stolen at Gobela’s tuckshop. Since she was Gobela’s customer, Mushango’s mother called Gobela.
Gobela then told her customer to insert the SIM card in her (customer’s phone) and call her (Gobela). Gobela added that if the SIM card was hers, its number would reflect on her phone upon being called. The customer did what Gobela advised her to do and upon calling, the number reflected on her phone showed that indeed the SIM card belonged to her. The police were involved leading to the arrest of Mushango and others. Gobela said that Moilwa dug up tins of fish, beans, and chakalaka that were buried outside Oteng’s yard.
When cross-examined by Jane, Gobela said that the person who broke into her tuckshop was Mushango who also gave the police the hammer he used to break into the tuckshop. Jane told Gobela that Oteng had testified that the police came to his house and kicked the door to gain entry and after that, they began to assault him. Gobela vehemently denied this.
She stated that the police knocked on the door and Oteng came out of the house and never at any point at Oteng’s yard and Sebina Police Station did the officers assault Oteng. When Jane put it to Gobela that the police further assaulted Oteng en route to Tutume Police Station on March 12, 2016, Gobela said that she cannot attest to what happened in her absence.
Gobela added that she was not aboard the police car en route to Tutume but was driving her car during that time. Jane also asked why Oteng went to the hospital to seek medical attention if he was never assaulted by the police. At that point, Monthe objected to the question saying that he wanted Gobela to speculate why the plaintiff went to the hospital.
However, Justice Sechele did not sustain the objection saying that Jane was raising the issue because the plaintiff said that he went to the hospital after he was assaulted by the police in Gobela’s presence. In response, Gobela said that she did not know. The case is due for a continuation of trial on June 16.