Phasha and Others v Minister of Police

The sixteen applicants, all employees of the Makhado Municipality and members of SAMWU, instituted action against the Minister of Police for damages arising from alleged unlawful arrest, detention, and in some cases assault, during a protected municipal workers’ strike in August 2011. Following delays by municipal management in authorising a picketing route, workers attempted to march to the civic centre and were stopped by SAPS public order police. After an initial confrontation at the municipal workshop and subsequent dispersal, SAPS alleged that a group of workers later engaged in unrest at the civic centre by littering and starting fires, leading to arrests without warrants. The applicants denied that any such unrest occurred and alleged that arrests and assaults were arbitrary. The magistrate dismissed all claims, and an appeal to the Gauteng Division of the High Court failed. The applicants then sought special leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal under s 16(1)(b) of the Superior Courts Act.

The application for special leave to appeal was dismissed with costs.

The case reaffirms the stringent threshold for granting special leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal under the Superior Courts Act and underscores the principle that appeals raising only factual disputes, particularly credibility findings, will not ordinarily justify further appellate intervention. It also illustrates the application of s 40 of the Criminal Procedure Act in the context of public order policing during strikes.