Over the past months, Free State judges have expressed a great deal of concern over poor record keeping that has thus far led to close to 18 cases of convicted criminals set free after successful appeals on technicalities.
In the latest judgment in which Morne Grant Delport, a police officer, yes a police officer claimed damages against the Minister of Police and the Director of Public Prosecutions for malicious prosecutions.
This is after Morne who has been with the South African Police Service for 30 years and responsible for investigations of firearms, police clearances, and filling of reports at Vispol Division stood trial on:
One charge of common assault,
Two charges of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm and one charge of fraud
According to Judge Mathebula, Morne’s legal woes lasted a lengthy period.
“His legal woes lasted a lengthy period of five years to come to finality. On 6 June 2013, the learned District Magistrate Nikamanzi acquitted him and made scathing remarks that the NPA had dismally failed to prove the guilt of the accused beyond a reasonable doubt on counts 1, 2, 3, and 4”
Judge Mathebula continues.
“Reading the record in context, he found the evidence presented before him on behalf of the state being poor quality to sustain a conviction.”
It all started on the 8 and 15 November 2008 as well as on the 23 April 2009 when the alleged offenses occurred when Morne was accused of assaulting Pierre Wilbers, Cornelia, and Marius Oliver with fists displaying pure intention to injure them.
Evidence to sustain these charges was in the form of affidavits deposed to by complainants according to the judgment.
Judge Mathebula points out the lack of particularity.
“It is lack of particularity and contradictions therein that Morne alleges that his prosecution was tainted with malice and was from the beginning devoid of reasonable and probable cause.”
The fraud charge is the one that Judge Mathebula found bizarre.
“Of the four charges leveled against Morne Delport, the fraud charge is the most bizarre.
The charge was put to him and he was asked to plead to it. The prosecution didn’t lead even a morsel of evidence to prove it.”
This followed a car accident between Morne Delport and the daughter of the complainant, Cornelia Olivier.
He pursued a claim to recover damages in the Small Claims Court, Bloemfontein.
The main allegations were that:
Morne prove damages to his motor vehicle by handed quotations from AAA panel-beaters for R11 402.39 and R10 964.92 respectively and he knew that the damages suffered amounted to R9.01 therefore he committed fraud.
The small claims court granted R7000 in his favor.
What is of interest is the NPA refused to accept the withdrawal statement by Pierre Wilbers before commemncement of the trial and instead forced and coaxed Pierre Wilbers to continue with the matter.
It gets very shocking, the prosecution on other charges was equally problematic as NPA continued with the charges despite three statements of witnesses who made it pertinent that Morne did not assault Cornelia Olivier and she also confirmed it was not Morne who broke her jaws.
Despite these statements in their possession, the NPA didn’t call the deponents as witnesses while their statements were in the docket.
Judge Mathebula made the following order:
- Judgment in favor of Morne against the NPA in the sum of R400 000 with interest
- Costs of a suit on a party and party scale.
In another victory for a Thaba Nchu, Judge Chesiwe ruled in favor of Tshidiso Toloane for wrongful and unlawful detention for 66 days.
The Judge ordered he is paid R250 000.
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