Rumour of ‘skulls kept in fridge’ costs cops

UNTRUE and unwarranted rumours made by the police that a tavern owner kept human skulls in a refrigerator will cost the taxpayer dearly, as the police now have to pay the man R850 000 in damages.

The police had also accused Frans Mojapelo, owner of Jikeleza Tavern in Siyabuswa, of having an unlicensed firearm with which he used to “rule his patrons”.

Mojapelo claimed more than R2 million in damages in the high court in Pretoria from the minister of police, in his official capacity, as well as a police constable.

Mojapelo said the malicious rumour not only injured his reputation and good name, but also placed his and his family’s lives in danger as the community believed the rumours and labelled them as witches. It was said that these utterances were made by members of the police in the area around September 2012.

Mojapelo said he had been harassed by the police for months prior to this. They often arrived at his tavern at around midnight and made false allegations of wrongdoing against him.

He was once arrested for selling liquor after hours, which was not true, and he was made to pay an admission of guilt fine or face a weekend in jail.

During another raid shortly before a New Year’s bash, they again raided his tavern and took his sound system. This caused his patrons to have a silent run-up to the New Year.

But the last straw was when he was falsely accused of keeping human skulls in his fridge.

Mojapelo said that as a result of these allegations, his patrons no longer wanted to visit his tavern. His safety was also endangered in his community and his dignity was violated. He said he had no choice but to relocate from Siyabuswa to Mokopane and buy another property in Pretoria.

Before the start of the trial the police conceded the merits of the case and that they were liable to pay damages. The only issue the parties could not agree on was the damages Mojapelo was entitled to.

His lawyer told the court he should receive R2m in damages and he should be reimbursed for the transfer costs of the two properties he had bought in Mokopane and in Pretoria into his name.

Counsel for the police said they had made an offer of R500 000 in damages to Mojapelo, which he had rejected. The police said this was a reasonable offer to redress the damages Mojapelo had suffered.

The court was told that while Mojapelo had relocated, he was still operating his tavern in the same spot.

Acting Judge M Senyatsi said that in his view the rumours by the police that Mojapelo had kept human skeletons in his fridge were very serious.

He said Mojapelo had to move his home as he no longer felt safe in the community where he had been living for a long time.

“We know in the Republic that someone accused of keeping, for instance, a human skeleton in his house may in some communities be associated with the practice of witchcraft, which may lead to such a person being killed…

“The injury suffered as a result of such accusation is understandable and cannot be underestimated,” the judge said. In his view, R850 000 was a fair amount of compensation.