- Suzette Ropafadzo Paradza’s Volkswagen Golf was placed in police storage with its engine intact, but when she came to collect it months later, the engine was gone, and the keys were missing.
- Acting Judge Minnaar said the police had breached their duty of care and that it would be unfair and unjust to enforce the indemnity Paradza signed when the car was released.
- The court found the Minister of Police liable for Paradza’s proven damages and ordered the Minister to pay the costs of the case. The exact amount of compensation will be decided at a later date.
The Minister of Police was found responsible for damages Suzette Ropafadzo Paradza suffered after police stripped her Volkswagen Golf of its engine and other parts while holding it as evidence at a police storage facility in Pretoria West.
Acting Judge J Minnaar said the police had a legal duty to protect the vehicle and could not rely on an indemnity signed by the owner to avoid responsibility if enforcing it would be unfair.
Vehicle went missing after being lent to a friend
Paradza brought a claim against the Minister of Police after she discovered her 2014 Volkswagen Golf had been stripped of its engine while it was held at the SAPS 13 storage facility in Pretoria West. The keys were also missing.
Paradza became the owner after her husband, Selestian Osiele, bought the car in 2019 or 2020 and gave it to her. On 2 March 2022, Osiele lent the car to a friend named Ellen, who never returned it. It later turned out that Ellen had made up a story about a hijacking.
About a week later, Warrant Officer Warren Timothy Bishop, the investigating officer, contacted Osiele after the vehicle was found in Laudium. Bishop said he collected the car on 24 May 2022 and that it could start and was complete, although it did not have a battery.
Bishop confirmed that the car had its engine and key when it was booked into the police storage facility. Security officer Mogadi Mashala, who received the vehicle, also confirmed that it arrived with its engine, but without a key or battery.
Owner discovered engine was missing
In September 2022, Bishop gave Osiele the release documents, and he and Paradza went to collect the car. They struggled to find it at the storage facility, and police officials could not provide the keys.
Unable to open the car’s bonnet, they had it towed to a mechanic in Pretoria West. When they arrived, the mechanic also couldn’t open the bonnet. According to Osiele, the mechanic checked from underneath and discovered the engine was missing. The bonnet had been fastened with wire.
Osiele told Bishop about the missing engine and said he would return the car to the storage facility. The car was then booked back into storage. The mechanic did not testify in court, but police witnesses confirmed that the car was booked into storage with its engine.
Paradza’s witness, Albert Chibuike, inspected the car about three years after it had gone into police custody. Besides the missing engine, he found the gearbox had been tampered with and that the water pump, flywheel, alternator, starter, and manifold were missing. The cooler, regulator fan, and catalytic converter were gone too, and the bumper had been pulled off.
Chibuike estimated it would take one to two days to remove the engine and strip the car of the missing parts. Acting Judge Minnaar didn’t treat his testimony as expert evidence but accepted his experience in the motor industry and his opinion on how long it would take to strip the car.
Police criticised for failing to assist owner
The court also looked at differences in the records about when the car was returned to storage. Police records showed it was booked back into the system on 5 September 2022, but the judge found no evidence that it hadn’t been returned on the day it was released, 1 September 2022.
Warrant Officer Kenneth Benjamin Brauns, who handled the administrative booking, admitted there could have been a delay between the car’s return and its entry into the system. Captain Haskins, who told him to book the car back in, did not testify.
Judge Minnaar criticised the way police assisted members of the public at the storage facility. Paradza and Osiele had to find the car and get the keys themselves, with little help from police. Warrant Officer Ronald Malesela Mashiachidi, who completed the release paperwork, also failed to physically check the car before finishing the documents and issuing the exit permit.
The judge said the police had a legal duty to protect property seized and kept for an investigation. While the car was in their custody, they had to make sure it wasn’t lost or damaged. The court found the police failed in that duty because the car entered storage with its engine but was released without one.
Indemnity could not shield police from liability
The Minister’s defence relied on an indemnity form Paradza signed on 1 September 2022, when the car was released. The document said she had received the car in good condition and tried to exempt the police and government from any liability for claims or losses related to it.
The evidence showed that Paradza did not check the car before signing, although the missing key was noted. Mashiachidi said he explained the documents to her. There was no evidence she was forced to sign or not given a chance to inspect the car.
Judge Minnaar found the indemnity was clearly written and that Paradza would normally be bound by it. However, he considered whether enforcing it would be fair and in line with public policy and constitutional values.
The judgment referred to the Constitutional Court’s decision in Barkhuizen v Napier, which said that contract terms must be measured against public policy. Even if an agreement is clear and usually binding, enforcing it could be unfair or unjust depending on the situation.
Using those principles, Judge Minnaar found that Paradza got very little help at the storage facility and was not on equal terms with the police handling her car. The judge said enforcing the indemnity in these circumstances would be unfair and unjust. So the indemnity did not protect the Minister from liability for the damage to the car.
Minister ordered to pay proven damages
Judge Minnaar concluded that Paradza had proved her claim and that the Minister of Police was responsible for her damages.
The Minister was also ordered to pay the costs of the case on Scale B. The amount of compensation has been postponed indefinitely, so the damages still need to be decided.
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