‘ Probable ’ mistake wins police damages case
POLICE Minister Nathi Mthethwa this week won an appeal against Fred van der Vyver, who had successfully sued the state for maliciously prosecuting him for the murder of his girlfriend, Inge Lotz.
A 2011 judgment by the High Court in Cape Town in favour of Van der Vyver was overturned by the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein on Thursday.
The high court found in 2011 that the police ministry could be held liable for damages following Van der Vyver ’ s prosecution for Lotz ’ s murder in 2005. He was acquitted in November 2007.
The appeal court, however, said Van der Vyver had failed to prove malicious intent on the part of police officers investigating the crime.
It was “far more probable ” that officers had made a mistake with fingerprint evidence than that there had been a complicated fraudulent
“ scheme ” against Van der Vyver, according to the judgment. It set aside the earlier ruling with costs, finding that because Van der Vyver ’ s civil or constitutional claims against the police were based on the same premise, those could not succeed either. Van der Vyver s lawyers had ar
’ gued in the appeal court that fingerprints at the murder scene were swapped to fabricate evidence against Van der Vyver, but the court was not convinced.
Zweli Mnisi, a spokesman for the police ministry, said: “The minister of police welcomes the decision because he feels that the judgment vindicates the South African Police Service. We also want to emphasise that we will continue to employ the highest professional standard when dealing with all crimes.”
Van der Vyver had demanded R46-million in damages. — Sapa and Staff Reporter