An Eastern Cape police officer who claimed R5m for alleged malicious proceedings and R1m for defamation, is walking away with R80,000 for damages after the minister of police was ordered to pay her that much. Judge Avinash Govindjee, delivering the judgment in the Makhanda high court recently, said the police officer’s claim was “grossly extravagant”. The civil claim came after the officer, a captain and acting visible policing (Vispol) support head at the Joza police station, reportedly said: “If you pick up the monkey, you need to feed it … If you take up the problem, you need to sort it out” during a parade in 2020.
She maintained that her utterance made no reference to people as monkeys. An inquiry ensued, and she was charged with misconduct — intimidation or victimisation and unfair discrimination. She was found guilty of unfair discrimination and dismissed on June 2021.
She challenged this outcome and was reinstated following an advisory arbitration award issued by the Safety and Security Sector Bargaining Council (SSSBC) on December 6 2021. In her claims, she said police unlawfully and intentionally published information that was defamatory, that she had referred to people as monkeys in statements under oath. She said posters referring to her as a “white racist bitch” were placed on fences and doors at Joza.
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On May 2 2021, her colleagues allowed these posters containing defamatory and derogatory statements to be affixed to entrances at the different sections of Joza, including the door of the plaintiff’s office and on vehicles parked in the backyard of the station. She said that on May 19 2021 during an EFF protest, protesters were in possession of placards containing various defamatory statements, which were tied to the fence of the station.
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