Inmate sues for N$4.5m
Prison scuffle leads to lawsuit
A brief early-morning scuffle between a Windhoek prison inmate and a warden has led to a N$4.5 million lawsuit against the prison authorities.
Ricardo Kruger (27) initiated the lawsuit against the Namibian Correctional Service one year ago on the basis of claims that he was beaten and kicked by prison officers after he had assaulted a prison official who was trying to wake him while he was allegedly ill.
The particulars of claim outlining his allegations arising from the 19 February 2017 incident accuse prison officials of causing him to suffer physical and mental shock, pain, and that he was subjected to inhumane and cruel treatment.
Further, that the loss of more than three teeth resulting from an alleged kicking by at least two officers has led to lifelong difficulty eating.
He also claims he was denied proper and speedy medical care following the incident.
The minister of safety and security, the commissioner-general and the officer in charge of the prison, who were cited as respondents in the matter, denied the allegations and countered Kruger's allegations with their own version that the scuffle started after Kruger hit an officer in the face, which ultimately resulted in putting several officers in a dangerous position as prison inmates flocked to the scene and intervened.
In the plea filed by the respondents, they claim that Kruger ignored his name being called by a prison official during a routine morning head-count.
When the officer executed his duty by inspecting the bed and taking off the bedding to see if Kruger was in bed, Kruger allegedly “aggressively jumped off the bed and proceeded to assault [the officer] with a clenched fist by hitting him in the face, whereupon the officer fell to the ground as a result.”
This in turn resulted in a “brief scuffle” after colleagues of the officer “rushed to intervene and assist in warding off the assault”, which threatened their physical safety, the plea claims.
Then, other inmates reacted “with a display of riotous conduct by physically blocking and/or restricting the movements of the members of the Correctional Services in the performance of their duty to maintain order, thereby causing the scuffle referred to above.”
Eventually, the officers “rushed” from the cell and alerted senior personnel.
Inmates involved in the incident were called in for questioning and Kruger was taken to hospital, according to the plea papers.
Cruel
Kruger, however, offered a different version in his particulars of claim, alleging that he was “sleeping sick in his bed” when a prison officer identified in the papers as “Sergeant David” manhandled him when he refused to get up.
He claims the officer knew Kruger was ill but roughly pulled the blankets from the bed and threw them to the floor.
He admits that he then got up and “beat/hit Sergeant David in the face which caused Sergeant to fall.”
Kruger recounts in the papers that another prison official saw the scuffle and entered the cell and started beating Kruger.
Other inmates near the scene, according to Kruger, “asked the officers why are they assaulting the plaintiff rather than taking him to the hospital.”
Kruger's version to the court is that the officers then left the cell but returned with more officers a short while later, handcuffed him and took him to another office, where two of the officers assaulted him, by kicking him while he was lying on the ground.
This allegedly led to the loss of three teeth.
He also claims he was threatened to be put into “the single isolation cells” as punishment.
He states when they officers spotted blood pouring from his mouth, they stopped the assault.
He was taken to a senior officer then and asked to be taken to a hospital, but was “refused outright” by other officers on the scene.
In the particulars of claim, Kruger alleges that he never received medical attention “despite being injured wrongfully and unlawfully by a member of the Namibian Correctional Service”.
The three defendants in the case deny that Kruger was not taken to a hospital.
Alongside their plea, a copy of a medical report from a doctor on duty at hospital on the day of the incident, the doctor observed a “laceration on forehead” and that he complained of a toothache and a loose tooth.
Dr Innocent Zulu, whose witness statement on behalf of the defendants has been filed, said the laceration was treated with a Betadine solution and Kruger was prescribed pain medication.
The doctor further notes that by reviewing the available notes on the medical passport is likely that no dental emergency was present as it is common practice to refer a patient with mouth trauma or oral bleeding to a dentist, which was not the case.
This week, a joint pre-trial report filed at the Windhoek High Court, the court was informed that Kruger intends to testify on his own behalf, and has called three supporting witnesses.
The correctional services intend to bring numerous witnesses to trial, including the doctor who attended to Kruger and several correctional services officers.
Kruger has to date acted on his own behalf in the case, while Sylvia Kahengombe is acting on behalf of the government.
Judge Boas Usiku is presiding.
JANA-MARI SMITH
Ricardo Kruger (27) initiated the lawsuit against the Namibian Correctional Service one year ago on the basis of claims that he was beaten and kicked by prison officers after he had assaulted a prison official who was trying to wake him while he was allegedly ill.
The particulars of claim outlining his allegations arising from the 19 February 2017 incident accuse prison officials of causing him to suffer physical and mental shock, pain, and that he was subjected to inhumane and cruel treatment.
Further, that the loss of more than three teeth resulting from an alleged kicking by at least two officers has led to lifelong difficulty eating.
He also claims he was denied proper and speedy medical care following the incident.
The minister of safety and security, the commissioner-general and the officer in charge of the prison, who were cited as respondents in the matter, denied the allegations and countered Kruger's allegations with their own version that the scuffle started after Kruger hit an officer in the face, which ultimately resulted in putting several officers in a dangerous position as prison inmates flocked to the scene and intervened.
In the plea filed by the respondents, they claim that Kruger ignored his name being called by a prison official during a routine morning head-count.
When the officer executed his duty by inspecting the bed and taking off the bedding to see if Kruger was in bed, Kruger allegedly “aggressively jumped off the bed and proceeded to assault [the officer] with a clenched fist by hitting him in the face, whereupon the officer fell to the ground as a result.”
This in turn resulted in a “brief scuffle” after colleagues of the officer “rushed to intervene and assist in warding off the assault”, which threatened their physical safety, the plea claims.
Then, other inmates reacted “with a display of riotous conduct by physically blocking and/or restricting the movements of the members of the Correctional Services in the performance of their duty to maintain order, thereby causing the scuffle referred to above.”
Eventually, the officers “rushed” from the cell and alerted senior personnel.
Inmates involved in the incident were called in for questioning and Kruger was taken to hospital, according to the plea papers.
Cruel
Kruger, however, offered a different version in his particulars of claim, alleging that he was “sleeping sick in his bed” when a prison officer identified in the papers as “Sergeant David” manhandled him when he refused to get up.
He claims the officer knew Kruger was ill but roughly pulled the blankets from the bed and threw them to the floor.
He admits that he then got up and “beat/hit Sergeant David in the face which caused Sergeant to fall.”
Kruger recounts in the papers that another prison official saw the scuffle and entered the cell and started beating Kruger.
Other inmates near the scene, according to Kruger, “asked the officers why are they assaulting the plaintiff rather than taking him to the hospital.”
Kruger's version to the court is that the officers then left the cell but returned with more officers a short while later, handcuffed him and took him to another office, where two of the officers assaulted him, by kicking him while he was lying on the ground.
This allegedly led to the loss of three teeth.
He also claims he was threatened to be put into “the single isolation cells” as punishment.
He states when they officers spotted blood pouring from his mouth, they stopped the assault.
He was taken to a senior officer then and asked to be taken to a hospital, but was “refused outright” by other officers on the scene.
In the particulars of claim, Kruger alleges that he never received medical attention “despite being injured wrongfully and unlawfully by a member of the Namibian Correctional Service”.
The three defendants in the case deny that Kruger was not taken to a hospital.
Alongside their plea, a copy of a medical report from a doctor on duty at hospital on the day of the incident, the doctor observed a “laceration on forehead” and that he complained of a toothache and a loose tooth.
Dr Innocent Zulu, whose witness statement on behalf of the defendants has been filed, said the laceration was treated with a Betadine solution and Kruger was prescribed pain medication.
The doctor further notes that by reviewing the available notes on the medical passport is likely that no dental emergency was present as it is common practice to refer a patient with mouth trauma or oral bleeding to a dentist, which was not the case.
This week, a joint pre-trial report filed at the Windhoek High Court, the court was informed that Kruger intends to testify on his own behalf, and has called three supporting witnesses.
The correctional services intend to bring numerous witnesses to trial, including the doctor who attended to Kruger and several correctional services officers.
Kruger has to date acted on his own behalf in the case, while Sylvia Kahengombe is acting on behalf of the government.
Judge Boas Usiku is presiding.
JANA-MARI SMITH
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