Pretoria - In a bizarre set of circumstances, two colleagues who performed VIP protection services were arrested by the Ekurhuleni Metro Police for reckless driving, although only one of them drove.
They were also charged for the reckless handling of their firearms as their car “had no safe” in which to lock their weapons.
The pair, Ampie Kruger and Mark Oberholtzer, spent two days in a police cell before the National Prosecuting Authority declined to prosecute them.
The pair each claimed R150 000 in damages from the SA Police Service and the Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department following their ordeal. Both respondents insisted that the arrests and detention were lawful
They, however, relented this week seconds before the evidence was due to be heard in the North Gauteng High Court. The SAPS agreed to pay Kruger R25 000 for its part in the saga.
Kruger's lawyer Konrad Rontgen said after the metro police, who did the initial arrest, handed over the case docket to the SAPS, they should have looked at it and realised that there was no case against his clients.
Ekurhuleni also agreed to pay Kruger R40 000 in damages and foot his legal bill.
The case against Oberholtzer, which is based on the same facts, will be heard at a later stage.
The pair were on their way to the OR Tambo International Airport on November 30, 2015 to fetch an important client from somewhere on the continent.
They were travelling on the N12 highway, and because there was a traffic jam, they drove in the emergency lane. They had the emergency light on on their vehicle.
Oberholzer was driving very slowly when the car was stopped by members of the Ekurhuleni metro.
The pair explained that the were members of the VIP protection services and that they were on their way to fetch a client.
The metro police would not listen and arrested the two and took them to the nearby police station at the airport. Both were arrested for reckless driving.
The metro police then asked whether they had firearms with them, which the two confirmed that had, as it was part of their job.
When asked where the firearms were, they said they were locked in their car, as they were arrested.
The metro police there and then added another charge against their names - this time for the reckless handling of weapons, as it was not locked in a safe.
They explained that they had their weapons on them when they were arrested in their car. The metro police would have none of it and insisted that their car should have been fitted with a safe.
The SAPS, without checking the charges, simply locked them up for two days before taking them to court.
The prosecutor looked at the charges and the claims against them and immediately decided there was no case to prosecute.
Pretoria News