Sigqoko v Minister of Police

The plaintiff alleged that on 3 November 2018 in Molteno he was unlawfully shot in the left foot by members of the South African Police Service during a police operation, resulting in fractures and eventual amputation of his fourth toe. He claimed the police were acting within the course and scope of their employment. The defendant denied that the plaintiff was shot by SAPS and pleaded alternatively that any force used by police during a stop-and-search operation was justified by necessity and self-defence in response to stone-throwing youths. At trial, only the plaintiff testified. After he closed his case, the defendant applied for absolution from the instance.

Absolution from the instance was granted in favour of the defendant, with costs.

The case reaffirms the test for absolution from the instance in South African civil procedure and illustrates that, in exceptional circumstances, credibility and inherent improbabilities may be assessed at the close of the plaintiff’s case. It underscores the evidentiary burden on plaintiffs in police liability claims to establish a prima facie causal link between alleged police conduct and the injury sustained.