Police captain successfully sues SAPS for R80k over racist posters at station

SAPS have been ordered to pay a police captain R80 000 in damages after posters referring to her as a “white racist b***h” were placed on doors at an Eastern Cape police station after she had used the word “monkeys” in conversation with a colleague.

- ZELDA VENTER

Captain Henrietta du Preez was the acting Visible Police (Vispol) Support Head at the Joza Police Station (Joza) in the Eastern Cape and conducted a parade during December 2020.

In response to a concern raised by warrant officer Mbokodi, one of the officers on parade about work vehicles, Du Preez indicated that she was unprepared to take responsibility for crime prevention vehicles, which were under the command of Captain Manona, another colleague.

In her version, she used the “innocent expression” of “If you pick up the monkey, you need to feed it... If you take up the problem, you need to sort it out.” On the version of her colleague, who had lodged a complaint against her, she said, “I will not worry about that, Captain Manona must worry about his monkeys, and I will worry about my monkeys".

Following a complaint lodged against her, Du Preez was fired. An arbitration award later ordered her reinstatement.