Two Ladysmith brothers, Simphiwe and Thokizani Mthabela, were falsely held in police cells with hardened criminals for over 10 hours after an unlawful arrest on February 12, 2010. According to Simphiwe, Ezakheni police forced their way into their house without a search warrant.

He and his brother were then assaulted and verbally abused by police before being arrested.

They were placed in cells containing hardened criminals, this despite there being empty cells  nearby. They were repeatedly assaulted before being released after 10 hours and told they were “free to go”.

Thokizani never fully recovered from the ordeal and died before the outcome of the trial.

Police claimed they believed the two brothers had illegal weapons.

The Pietermaritzburg High Court ruled in favour of Simphiwe, instructing the Minister of Police to pay out R50,000 and  his legal costs. He originally sued for R750,000.

Speaking about the case, Simphiwe expressed his delight at the outcome of the case. “I am pleased that justice was done. I am grateful to my legal team and the management of the company he works for. They helped me get a good lawyer and stood by me through the long legal process.”