Mpumalanga man shot by police in horror hitchhike incident fails to get R4 million

Public Order Police (POPs) members at the Tshwane Police Training Academy on 15 June 2024. Picture: Gallo Images/Frennie Shivambu The Mpumalanga High Court in Mbombela has ordered the minister of police to pay just over half a million rand in damages to Aubrey Patrick Khoza after finding that he was unlawfully shot and detained by police in 2020. Khoza had sued for R4 million, seeking R100 000 for unlawful arrest and detention and R3.6 million for being unlawfully shot and assaulted.

Sergeant Makamu testified that on 28 August 2020, he and his colleagues received information about a stolen silver hatchback via a police hotline. While travelling along the R40, they spotted the vehicle. According to Makamu, the vehicle stopped abruptly near a roundabout, and the driver fled.

As officers approached, he said a shot was fired from the passenger side. He told the court that his colleague, Mr Nkosi, who was approaching from the driver’s side, was shot in the hand. Makamu further testified that a passenger attempted to escape through the driver’s side, but was apprehended. The officer said the passenger was found with a 9mm pistol containing two rounds of ammunition.