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SAPS ordered to compensate shot security guard
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The South African Police Service (SAPS) has been ordered to compensate a former security guard after the High Court of South Africa ruled that police unlawfully shot him during an operation in 2017.
In a judgment delivered on 30 April 2026, the court upheld an appeal by Siphiwe Mathews Mbanga against the Minister of Police, overturning an earlier Regional Court ruling that had dismissed his damages claim.
The case stemmed from an incident on 8 April 2017 at a mushroom farm near Kimberley, where Mbanga was working as a security guard for Mapogo Security. Police officers had been deployed to the area after receiving intelligence about a planned armed robbery at a nearby truck depot.
According to evidence before the court, officers entered the farm at night searching for suspected robbers. Mbanga testified that he identified himself as a security guard before being assaulted and shot in the leg by police officers. Police, however, claimed he attacked an officer with what appeared to be a panga, prompting them to open fire in defence of their colleague.
The appeal court found that police failed to justify the use of deadly force under Section 49(2) of the Criminal Procedure Act, which regulates the use of force during arrests.
Judge Stanton ruled that the trial court had wrongly placed the burden on Mbanga to prove the shooting was unlawful, when the responsibility lay with police to justify their actions.
The court highlighted several key factors, including that Mbanga was 59 years old, armed only with a thin stick, and confronted by multiple armed officers wearing bulletproof vests. It also found insufficient evidence that officers had exhausted less violent alternatives before shooting him.
The judgment stressed that police powers under Section 49 do not provide "carte blanche" authority to use lethal force and must be exercised in line with constitutional protections of life, dignity and bodily integrity.
The court concluded that the force used was neither reasonably necessary nor proportional to the threat allegedly posed by Mbanga.
As a result, the High Court ruled that the Minister of Police is liable for 100 percent of Mbanga's proven damages arising from the shooting. The amount of compensation will be determined at a later stage.
The Minister was also ordered to pay Mbanga's legal costs.
In a judgment delivered on 30 April 2026, the court upheld an appeal by Siphiwe Mathews Mbanga against the Minister of Police, overturning an earlier Regional Court ruling that had dismissed his damages claim.
The case stemmed from an incident on 8 April 2017 at a mushroom farm near Kimberley, where Mbanga was working as a security guard for Mapogo Security. Police officers had been deployed to the area after receiving intelligence about a planned armed robbery at a nearby truck depot.
According to evidence before the court, officers entered the farm at night searching for suspected robbers. Mbanga testified that he identified himself as a security guard before being assaulted and shot in the leg by police officers. Police, however, claimed he attacked an officer with what appeared to be a panga, prompting them to open fire in defence of their colleague.
The appeal court found that police failed to justify the use of deadly force under Section 49(2) of the Criminal Procedure Act, which regulates the use of force during arrests.
Judge Stanton ruled that the trial court had wrongly placed the burden on Mbanga to prove the shooting was unlawful, when the responsibility lay with police to justify their actions.
The court highlighted several key factors, including that Mbanga was 59 years old, armed only with a thin stick, and confronted by multiple armed officers wearing bulletproof vests. It also found insufficient evidence that officers had exhausted less violent alternatives before shooting him.
The judgment stressed that police powers under Section 49 do not provide "carte blanche" authority to use lethal force and must be exercised in line with constitutional protections of life, dignity and bodily integrity.
The court concluded that the force used was neither reasonably necessary nor proportional to the threat allegedly posed by Mbanga.
As a result, the High Court ruled that the Minister of Police is liable for 100 percent of Mbanga's proven damages arising from the shooting. The amount of compensation will be determined at a later stage.
The Minister was also ordered to pay Mbanga's legal costs.
Source - Byo24News
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