A former policeman who was arrested for murder and later acquitted has failed to provide the Polokwane High Court with evidence that his arrest was malicious prosecution, the court ordered.
The now-retired police officer, Lesiba Simon Mokhonoana, sued the Minister of Police, National Director of Public Prosecution, and the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) for malicious prosecution.
Mokhonoana was charged with the murder of Collen Ramashala, who was found dead in his bed at his home on September 8, 2014. In December 2016, the prosecution decided to prosecute the ex-cop on a charge of murder, in which Mokhonoana pleaded not guilty. On February 25, 2019, Mokhonoana was acquitted.
In his application to sue the four defendants, Mokhonoana said the police, including the complainant, had no probable cause to prosecute him. He accused the prosecution and police of acting without reasonable and probable cause.
Additionally, he accused them of unreasonably neglecting, failing, or refusing to apply their minds to the criminal case levelled against him.
“The police in their investigations misled the prosecutors and failed to disclose to them that the evidence was not material enough,” Mokhonoana said in his application.
He stated that if the police had not misled the prosecutors, he would not have been arrested. He added that the criminal proceedings lasted at least two years, during which he suffered significant emotional stress and trauma from the anticipation of a lengthy imprisonment if convicted.
He said his arrest tarnished his reputation as he appeared in full view of community members within which he worked as a police officer.
In their defence, the four defendants said they acted on eyewitness affidavits, which led to the prosecution of Mokhonoana.
“I need to state that both the plaintiff (Mokhonoana) and the defendants’ evidence was presented as if this court were a criminal court, and the majority of the time plaintiff failed to adduce the necessary evidence in this court. The majority of the evidence in chief and cross examination focused on the plaintiff referring to incidents of the particular day of September 8, 2014, where the plaintiff disputed that he assaulted Ramashala and ran him over with a car,” said acting Judge M Mphahlele.
He added that it was ordinary that the proceedings of the murder case were heard in an open court.
“The fact that Mokhonoana was a police officer at the time does not make him above the law.”
Additionally, Mphahlele said Mokhonoana failed to support his claim that the defendants acted without probable cause and with malice.
Mokhonoana’s claim was dismissed.
nomonde.zondi@inl.co.za
