Natasha Kern v Minister of Safety and Security

The appellant, a woman in her early twenties, was raped by three on-duty SAPS policemen in the early hours of 27 March 1999 after they offered her a lift home from a petrol station in Westonaria. The policemen, all uniformed sergeants, deviated from the route to her home, threatened her, and each raped her in turn. They were later convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for rape and 10 years for kidnapping. The appellant sued the Minister of Safety and Security for damages, abandoning claims against the policemen personally. The case proceeded on an agreed statement of facts, with the sole issue being whether the Minister was vicariously liable for the policemen’s conduct.

The appeal was dismissed with costs; the Minister of Safety and Security was held not vicariously liable.

The case is a leading authority confirming the limits of vicarious liability of the State for intentional criminal conduct by police officers. It underscores that even on-duty policemen may act so far outside the course and scope of employment that the State is not liable, and affirms that constitutional considerations do not automatically expand vicarious liability.