The North West High Court has awarded R160 000 in damages to Mmadu Ifechukhu (34) who was brutally assaulted, unlawfully arrested and detained by the police.
The incident happened in November 2018 in Vryburg when the victim was about to accompany his girlfriend home at about 8pm when he was suddenly confronted by a group of men whom he believed were members of the Zion Christian Church (ZCC). He said the church members demanded that he return a plasma TV that they claimed he stole, but Ifechuku denied any knowledge of this.
Ifechuku said police were called to the scene and four of them arrived, took him to his room and handcuffed him. He said was assaulted and strangled until he lost consciousness. "I was then poured with water and when I woke up, they continued assaulting me until I fainted again. My room was searched and when the officers could not find anything, they left with me in a combi where the church people continued torturing me." Giving his testimony Ifechukhu continued to say after the beatings he was taken to Huhudi Police Station where a statement was written on his behalf, and he was instructed to sign. He said he was then detained in a small holding cell which had no blanket or a mattress whilst he endured pain without receiving any medical attention until the next day.
After appearing in court his charges were dismissed. He said following the horrific incident which still haunts him, he lost all trust in the police and doesn't feel safe around them. Ifechuku's lawyer argued that due to the damages and trauma endured by his client the state should award him R250,000. But Judge Ronald Hendricks ruled that there was not enough evidence to support the amount sought. "No evidence was presented about any psychological evaluation been conducted on the plaintiff (Ifechukhu), to determine whether the plaintiff will suffer any lasting psychological effects as a result of this incident,". Judge Hendricks awarded him R100,000 for the assault and R60,000 for unlawful arrest and detention. The police minister was also ordered to pay interest from the date of summons being 23 October 2019 until final date.
