- Fikile Angel Gininza was shot four times in the back with rubber bullets during a community protest in Barberton.
- Acting Judge Ngwenya found the Minister of Police failed to justify the shooting, arrest and four-day detention.
- The High Court awarded Gininza R650 000 in damages, plus interest and legal costs.
What should have been an ordinary walk to collect a friend before attending a traditional healer’s ceremony became a life-changing ordeal for Fikile Angel Gininza.
Instead of reaching her destination, she was shot four times with rubber bullets, arrested, handcuffed, detained for four days and left with injuries that continue to affect her health, work and personal life.
Those events have now resulted in the Minister of Police being ordered to compensate her R650 000 after the High Court in Mbombela, found that police acted unlawfully.
Acting Judge TS Ngwenya ruled that the South African Police Service failed to justify the assault, arrest and detention following a community protest at Barberton Community Clinic on 7 February 2022.
Police claimed she was part of the protest
Police were deployed to Barberton Community Clinic after protesters allegedly barricaded the entrance with burning tyres and stones and threw bottles and rocks at officers. The Minister of Police argued that officers believed Gininza had been part of the violent crowd.
Warrant Officer Mnisi testified that police fired stun grenades and rubber bullets to disperse protesters and later found Gininza lying injured. He concluded she had been one of the protesters because of her injuries.
However, under cross-examination, he conceded that he had not seen her participating in the protest before finding her on the ground.
He also acknowledged that she was unarmed when she was arrested and eventually conceded that, while lying on the ground, she could not have posed a threat.
She said she was never part of the protest
Gininza, a farm worker and traditional healer, gave a very different account. She testified that she had been walking to fetch a friend before attending a traditional healer’s ceremony when police emerged from between nearby houses and opened fire.
She said officers first shot at her from a distance before approaching and firing at her again while she was already lying on the ground. “When I asked the SAPS officer why I was being shot, he said I was part of the protest.
She said, “I told him I was not part of the protest and that I was going to my friend’s place. However, the officer continued to fire shots at my body.”
She was taken to a police vehicle, transported to the police station, and later admitted to the hospital, where she remained handcuffed for four days before being released without ever appearing in court.
Injuries changed her life
Gininza told the court that the shooting continues to affect nearly every aspect of her life.
She experiences severe pain, particularly during winter, struggles to bend, suffers abdominal pain that affects bladder control and can no longer perform all of her duties as a traditional healer without assistance.
She also said the scars have affected her personal relationships and damaged her standing in the community.
She said, “The community has lost trust in me as I am seen as a criminal.”
Judge found police acted unlawfully
Judge Ngwenya found significant shortcomings in the State’s case. The court noted that the police could not dispute that Gininza had been shot at close range, struck in the back, found some distance from the protest and was unarmed.
The judge said, “The defence witness could not dispute that the Plaintiff was shot at the back, meaning that she was not a threat to property or any person.”
Judge Ngwenya further held that even if she had been fleeing the protest, the police were not justified in shooting her.
The judge said, “Even if I were to accept that the Plaintiff was part of the protest and was fleeing when she got shot, that does not justify the shooting, as she was no longer a threat.”
The court concluded that the assault, arrest and detention were unlawful.
R650 000 awarded
In assessing damages, Judge Ngwenya considered that Gininza had been shot at close range while posing no threat, remained handcuffed throughout her hospital stay and continues to suffer the physical and emotional consequences of the incident.
The court awarded her R200 000 for unlawful arrest and detention and R450 000 for the unlawful assault. The Minister of Police was also ordered to pay interest on the award and Gininza’s legal costs.
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