The plaintiff, a 28-year-old teacher who had studied Bachelor of Education at Walter Sisulu University, sued the Minister of Police for damages arising from an alleged unlawful arrest and detention on a charge of rape. On 16 December 2021, the plaintiff attended a function where a victim (who was his grade 8 student) was also present. The victim's mother opened a case of rape at the charge office. The arresting officer, Xolisa Ginya, was given the docket and was present when statements were taken from the victim and her friend. The victim identified the plaintiff as the perpetrator, knew where he lived, and led police to his residence where she pointed him out. The plaintiff was arrested without a warrant on 22 June 2022. He was detained overnight in a severely overcrowded cell (approximately 55 people in a 15m x 15m space) with poor conditions. He appeared in court the next day and was released, with a note on the file reflecting no prospects of successful prosecution. Discrepancies existed between the J88 medical report (which stated the perpetrator was an "unknown black male"), the victim's statement, and her friend's statement regarding details of the incident, though both the victim and friend confirmed the assault was non-consensual and identified the plaintiff.