Key points
- Mfanafuthi Ndimane was arrested without a warrant after visiting his former workplace to retrieve personal belongings.
- He endured six months in detention under degrading conditions before charges were dropped for lack of evidence.
- The High Court ruled in his favor, awarding R1.5 million in damages and reinforcing constitutional protections against abuse of power.
On 29 April 2018, Mfanafuthi Peter Ndimane walked through the gates of the ADT depot in Johannesburg, a place he once worked washing buses, hoping to retrieve boots, gloves, and a work suit left behind after his dismissal.
He had lost his job for taking unauthorised leave to care for his ailing aunt. That morning, he greeted the gate’s security officer, a familiar face and former colleague. They exchanged a few words.
Moments later, the alarm was triggered. ADT personnel quickly detained Ndimane, and SAPS officers arrived to arrest him. He was given a form to sign, no reason provided, no rights explained. Only after sifting through official documents did he learn of the accusations. He was facing changes of business burglary, theft of a laptop and theft of R2 500. None of which, it would later emerge, could be substantiated.
Detained without dignity
What followed was a harrowing six-month incarceration. Ndimane described being assaulted by SAPS officers and stitched up in a hospital before being locked in a cell without running water. There was no soap or sanitation. He slept on a foul-smelling sponge with a single dirty blanket. His medication had to be taken dry, and his pleas for information about the charges went unanswered.
Court proceedings only deepened the despair. On his first appearance, the matter was postponed due to a late-delivered docket. Later, it was postponed again to verify his residential address, ironically, his childhood home, which police falsely claimed was unoccupied. With no fixed “proof” of residence, bail was denied. His children were devastated. The community murmured. His sense of self was crushed.
Eventually, the charges were withdrawn. No evidence. No apology.
A judgment for accountability
On 25 June 2025, the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg delivered its ruling. With the state’s defence struck out due to procedural failures, the court accepted Ndimane’s version as uncontested. Judge MV Noko declared the arrest unlawful, the detention unconstitutional, and the prosecution malicious. He awarded R1.5 million in damages and ordered the Minister of Police and the National Director of Public Prosecutions to pay legal costs.
Ndimane’s counsel cited violations of the Criminal Procedure Act and multiple sections of the Constitution, emphasising the absence of a warrant, the failure to inform Ndimane of the charges, and the lack of just cause to prosecute. When all was said and done, the court reiterated that arrests made without warrants are presumed unlawful and that the burden falls on the State to prove otherwise.
“This award serves not only as recompense,” Judge Noko stated, “but as a deterrent against future violations by state organs.”
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