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MBABANE- Two years later, government has not paid the woman who was employed at Montigny Investments and was assaulted by intoxicated police officers in 2016.
On March 10, 2020, the High Court ruled that government should compensate Samukelisiwe Matsebula with a sum of E1.5 million, after Judge Mzwandile Fakudze was satisfied that Matsebula had proved her case.
Matsebula had claimed E1 505 000 from government following the conduct of the police officers.
She claimed that she suffered permanent disability, incurred medical expenses and also sued for pain and suffering.
The judge ordered that the parties were at liberty to deal with the issue of quantum (compensation amount) and if they failed to reach an agreement, they were free to approach the court to determine it. Despite the ruling, government has not made a commitment through the court of how much it could be able to pay to Matsebula.
Matsebula’s legal representative Derrick Jele of Robinson Bertram confirmed that since the court judgement, government had not committed to making the payment as per the conditions of the ruling.
“We are still waiting for government to make a commitment to the court of how much it could be able to pay as the judge ordered that the parties were at liberty to deal with the issue of quantum (compensation amount) and if they fail to reach an agreement, they were free to approach the court to determine it,” he said.
Redeployed
Following the injuries, Matsebula’s life took a complete turn as she had to be redeployed to another workstation but may have to stop work due to her constant visits to hospitals for check-ups.
She said she did not know how she would survive after losing her job. What pained her the most, she said, was that she had not received a cent from government. Matsebula said the money from the lawsuit would assist her for life because she would be able to start a business that would take care of her and her children.
Adding, Matsebula said since the injuries she had been operated on four times and she had to pay the bills, including getting medication, which was costly for her.
The woman said she earned E2 400 from Montigny Investments. Since she was hired through a labour broker, E1 200 goes to it, which she said was for the house she was staying in and utilities.
Deductions
Further, deductions for union subscriptions, among others, leave, her with around E900 as her net pay, which is the money she has to survive on.
Matsebula was assaulted on October 4, 2016 when she had attended a meeting that had been called by the leaders of their union, Swaziland Economic Improvement Workers Union (SEIWU), with her colleagues.
During the meeting, she was accused of insulting the union leaders and was taken to the police station.
The police officers were having a party and enjoying alcoholic beverages. She told the court that the police assaulted her with fists and kicks all over the body and suffocated her with a plastic bag while handcuffed to a chair.Matsebula suffered permanent injuries and made frequent trips to the hospital where she underwent numerous operations. She told the court that doctors confirmed that she would no longer have children.
She submitted that she was unable to work most of the time and Dr Magagula stated that she had been deformed permanently and would feel pain for the rest of her life. This evidence, according to Judge Fakudze, was not disputed by the defendants (police and the attorney general).