South African police are not the public’s favourite people despite much of the great work that they do. Recently, stories of police brutality, corruption in the police force have emerged – do I even need to mention Bheki Cele? So when someone finds themselves behind bars for 18 months – for all the wrong reasons, it’s nice to see that something is done about it.

Eric Gosa, a man from Mamelodi, was arrested four years ago on the suspicion that he had stolen a car. He was found guilty and sentenced to imprisonment, even though there was very little evidence against him. In court, the police admitted that the only basis for their suspicion was the fact that the vehicle was missing its battery, and that he was leaning against the car. Not exactly conclusive

In his appeal, the judge awarded him R90 000 in damages for his wrongful arrest, and admitted that his arrest led to humiliation in front of his family. He also lost his job and his wife due to his arrest.

[Source: News24]