DELICT – DETERMINATION OF THE QUANTUM OF DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF ASSAULT BY SECURITY FORCES

DELICT – DETERMINATION OF THE QUANTUM OF DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF ASSAULT BY SECURITY FORCES

The plaintiff instituted a claim for damages as a result of an assault by members of the Namibian Police, Namibian Defence Force and Windhoek City Police.  The assault occurred at or near her house in Windhoek North in that she was slapped across the face by a tall unknown member of the Namibian Defence Force; hit on the back with the butt of his assault rifle, and after she ran into her house, she was again assaulted in her house by the same person. She asserted that this assault resulted in her suffering injuries, trauma, pain and indignity.

The plaintiff was 49 years old at the time of the incident and was employed as a flight attendant with Air Namibia. She claimed N$145 000 as general damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenities of life as a result of an assault.

The parties settled the question of liability and the question of the quantum of liability was left for the determination of the Court. By way of affidavit, the parties submitted the facts upon which the issue of quantum had to be determined.

COLEMAN J considered the matter and stated that in determining the quantum of general damages one should consider the person before the court as well as the circumstances of the incident. The age of the person, his or her gender, the psychological make-up of the person, the nature and duration of the violation, the impact of the trauma on the person and the duration of the physical and psychological consequences of the violation should be considered. The plaintiff in this matter was a woman aged 53 (49 at the time of the incident). She was assaulted on her premises by members of the Namibian Police and Namibian Defence Force who were part of a law enforcement operation. This is atrocious and is treated as a severe assault. The fact that a man armed with an assault rifle sees it fit to assault a woman with the butt of the rifle is disturbing and must have been extremely traumatizing for a 49-year-old woman. She was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and suffers from depression and anxiety which will likely haunt her for some time.

Consequently, the court awarded the plaintiff N$145 000.00 as damages.

Owoses v GRN NAHCMD 15 September 2022