The High Court in Durban has reaffirmed that the state may be held delictually liable when police officers fail in their constitutional duty to protect life and property. In a judgment handed down in September, Judge Mokgere Masipa ordered that the Minister of Police is liable to Arnold Fourie Raath for damages amounting to R2 029 000, plus interest at 9% a year from the date of demand to final payment. The minister must also pay Raath’s legal costs, including reasonable travel and accommodation expenses, to be taxed on scale C “given the serious nature and extent of this matter”.
Sam Busa