A woman was awarded R650,000 after the Mpumalanga High Court found that police unlawfully shot her with rubber bullets, arrested and detained her following a Barberton protest.
The Mpumalanga High Court in Mbombela has ordered the Minister of Police to pay a farm worker and traditional healer R650,000 after finding she was unlawfully shot her four times with rubber bullets, arrested and detained for four days following a community protest.
Acting Judge T.S. Ngwenya awarded Fikile Gininza R200,000 for unlawful arrest and detention and R450,000 for unlawful assault after he found that police had failed to justify the assault, arrest and detention during unrest near the Barberton Community Clinic in February 2020.
According to the judgment handed down on Monday, police were deployed to the clinic after protesters allegedly barricaded the entrance with stones and burning tyres, while officers came under attack from stones and bottles.
Gininza maintained she was not part of the protest. She testified that she had been walking to collect a friend before attending a traditional healer's ceremony when police emerged from between nearby houses and began firing. She said she fell after being shot and was then shot again at close range while lying on the ground.
