South Africa: Man Wins Damages After Being Shot By Police During Covid Lockdown

Xolani Patrick Lingani was shot when officers tried to break up a gathering outside a spaza shop in Mdantsane during the fifth day of the lockdown in 2020.

An Eastern Cape man who was shot with a rubber bullet a few days after the start of South Africa's hard Covid-19 lockdown in 2020 has won his damages case in the Bhisho High Court.

In ruling in favour of the plaintiff, Judge Avinash Govindjee said: "The after-effects of the Covid-19 pandemic continue to be experienced. Courts are still seized with matters emanating from the global events which resulted in a state of national lockdown coupled with emergency regulations that impacted on the lives of all South Africans."

He ordered that the South African Police Service (SAPS) pay damages to Xolani Patrick Lingani who was shot when officers tried to break up a gathering at a spaza shop in Mdantsane during the fifth day of the lockdown in 2020.

No date has yet been set for the hearing on the quantum of damages, which was not specified in the court papers.

The SAPS legal team stated that the incident occurred five days after President Cyril Ramaphosa had announced a Level 5 lockdown for South Africa triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic.

As part of this announcement, regulations were enacted...

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