By Mapaballo Borotho

- The Mbombela High Court has ordered the government to pay Mpumalanga traditional healer Fikile Gininza R650,000 after finding that she was unlawfully shot with rubber bullets, arrested and detained following a 2022 protest.
- Gininza maintained that she was not involved in the demonstration and was simply on her way to a traditional healing ceremony.
- The court ruled that police failed to justify the assault, arrest and detention.
A traditional healer from Mpumalanga has been awarded R650,000 after the High Court in Mbombela ordered the government to compensate her for being unlawfully shot four times with rubber bullets, arrested, and detained for four days following a violent community protest.
The case dates back to a protest that took place in 2022. According to the judgment handed down earlier this week, police were deployed to a clinic after protesters allegedly barricaded the entrance with stones and burning tyres.
The traditional healer, Fikile Gininza, maintained that she was never part of the protest. She told the court that she was collecting a friend before attending a traditional healing ceremony when police suddenly opened fire on her.
She testified that she fell after being shot and was then shot again at close range while lying on the ground.
Gininza told the court that despite her explaining she was not involved in the protest, officers continued firing before arresting her.
She was later handcuffed at the police station and remained handcuffed under police guard while in hospital for four days before being told there was no case against her.
The court awarded Gininza R200,000 for her unlawful arrest and detention, and a further R450,000 for the unlawful assault after police failed to justify the assault, arrest and detention during the unrest near Barberton Community Clinic in February 2020.
Four rubber bullets were removed from Gininza’s body. Although her wounds have healed, she said she continues to experience pain, particularly during the cold season.
In its ruling, the Mbombela High Court found that the state had failed to prove that the assault, arrest and detention were lawful.
For the full judgment text, read here
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