The man who was arrested for contravening lockdown legislation when he broke the curfew to urgently buy formula milk for his newborn baby says he plans to take legal steps against the police.
Naas Le Roux from Centurion in Gauteng says he’s planning to sue for unlawful arrest as well as bring civil claims against the two arresting policemen.
The Civil Rights Organisation, AfriForum, today announced that the National Prosecuting Authority indicated they will not prosecute Le Roux, or even enrol the matter in court.
Le Roux was arrested on 7 January and was jailed for the evening before being released on bail.
Head of AfriForum’s private prosecuting unit, Gerrie Nel, says the fact that the commissioning officers at the Wierdabrug Police Station also refused to put relevant evidence in the docket before presenting the docket to a prosecutor, is reprehensible.
Nel says they will support Le Roux’s civil claim.
“The interaction of the policemen on the scene is just atrocious. They treated him with disdain and he was told the police will teach him a lesson. We will not stand for the abuse of power, and we will get involved if there is an abuse of power, especially in a matter like this, where there is absolutely no angle to think Le Roux contravened any regulation of the emergency regulations. We will certainly now follow up on investigations as far as the civil complaint is concerned.”
SA’s adjusted Lockdown Level 3 regulations:
President Cyril Ramaphosa announced earlier in January that South Africa will remain under an adjusted coronavirus (COVID-19) Alert Level 3 lockdown.
This as the country endures a surge in COVID-19 infections and deaths. South Africa is also battling with a new COVID-19 variant known as “501.V2 Variant”.
“We are in the grip of a deadly pandemic and all these activities that would normally take place are just increasing our exposure to risk – for ourselves, for the bereaved family and for our own families at home,” says Ramaphosa.
Additional regulations include the closure of 20 land ports of entry including SA’s busiest borders. Borders that will be closed until 15 February 2021 include Beitbridge, Lebombo, Maseru Bridge, Oshoek, Ficksburg and Kopfontein.
Curfew hours have also been adjusted. Curfew in South Africa starts at 9pm and ends at 5am.
Video: President Ramaphosa addresses the nation on developments in COVID-19 response
