The Bloemfontein High Court ordered the Free State National Prosecuting Authority to pay R80,000 in damages to a police captain for prosecuting him before it had its ducks in a row.
A police captain who told an officer with a lower rank that he is “f*** useless” is due to receive R80,000 in damages from the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) after he was charged with crimen injuria, but the court proceedings dragged on for four years before charges were dropped.
The Bloemfontein High Court found that Captain Daniel Liebenberg did utter these words towards Warrant Officer Jacob Nzama. However, this did not automatically justify prosecution for crimen injuria, as the required elements of seriousness and intention to impair dignity were not established.
Acting Judge JJF Hefer commented that if the prosecuting authority had done a better job at investigating the case against Liebenberg before simply pursuing it, there could have been chances of a conviction.
The judge pointed out that Liebenberg, as an SAPS captain, should have known better than to address a colleague of subordinate rank in the manner he had done.
