A man without a penis who was held prisoner in a South African hellhole jail for two months accused of raping a young girl has been awarded £35,000 compensation.
The wrongly arrested man, who was 21 at the time, had been kidnapped and brutally attacked when he was 12 and had his left ear, penis, testicles and scrotum cut off.
However the accused was arrested in 2020 by police after an 11-year-old neighbour claimed he had attacked her at his home and raped her by penile penetration.
He was taken before Ezakheni Magistrates Court in KwaZulu-Natal province and charged with rape when his father approached the investigating police officer.
The father presented her with his son’s medical records showing he nearly died years ago when he was castrated and his penis severed and could not have done it.
But despite being given the records, the case officer did not tell the prosecutor and kept the evidence hidden and the innocent man was incarcerated in a notorious jail.
He was held for 54 days in appalling conditions until his father managed to get his medical records to the prosecutor and the rape case was withdrawn.
A man who doesn’t have a penis has been given financial compensation after he was held in a South African jail for rape
The wrongly arrested man had been kidnapped brutally attacked when he was 12 and had his left ear, penis, testicles and scrotum cut off
Five years later the victim’s case against the Minister of Police for wrongful arrest and illegal detention came before the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Pietermaritzburg.
Judge Johnson Mathenjwa read the report which revealed that he had had his private parts completely removed after being kidnapped by a gang.
His ear was also severed and he was found bleeding by a railway station.
Judge Mathenjwa said:’It is clear from the evidence before the court the arresting officer did not evaluate the facts at her disposal that he could not have committed the crime.
‘The officer did not even inform the prosecutor of the evidence presented to her by the plaintiff’s father which showed that due to his physical state he was incapable of rape.
‘The case officers failure to confirm this to the prosecutor resulted in the plaintiff’s arrest and detention and deprivation of his liberty and being held in intolerable conditions.
Judge Mathenjwa found that the man had been unlawfully arrested and detained and having committed no crime received no apology or explanation for his detention.
He was awarded R800,000 (£35,000) and his legal costs for the ‘violation of his rights’.
The lawyer of the man, who cannot be named to protect his identity, Mr Robert van Wyk said:’The judgement was in the best interests of justice and to our client.
‘We are thankful to the court and now our client now can close this horrific chapter of his life and hopefully this award can assist in getting his life back on track again’.
