Vincent Andries Rossouw, who is the son of the sheriff and also his father’s deputy in Thabazimbi under the Waterberg district, lost in his application to appeal a court judgment ordering him to pay Lucky Mogorosi R65,000 in damages plus costs. The matter was heard in the Limpopo High Court in Polokwane. The court ruled in Mogorosi’s favour on August 10, saying that he had been justified in opening a case against Rossouw because he had endured humiliation as a result of the 2016 attack when he went to collect a printer that the sheriff had erroneously taken during seizure of municipal property. “The word ‘k****r’ has racial connotations and it belongs in the past, and has the potential to open old wounds of the past.

It was most degrading and humiliating to be referred to as a young ‘k****r’ and also by a person 17 years younger to the first respondent. I do not find any reason to fault the judgment and order of the court a quo,” judge J Kganyago stated in court papers. Speaking to Sowetan this week Mogorosi, who has been working for the Thabazimbi Local Municipality since 2005, said he was happy that justice was served. Mogorosi said he decided to file a civil lawsuit against Rossouw after the criminal case he initially opened was unsuccessful. Mogorosi said he planned to use his court victory to bring the spotlight on human rights abuses and racism in the area. “I am relieved and I hope my case will open eyes and people will be encouraged to report such things.

My case is not the only one but many people in the Thabazimbi area are afraid to come forward,” he said. When contacted by Sowetan, Rossouw, who maintained he was wrongfully accused, said he would not challenge the decision any further as he already has to pay about R180,000 in connection with the case. He declined to comment further. According to court papers the incident happened when Mogorosi, a shop steward at the Independent Municipal Allied Trade Union (Imatu), tried to retrieve a printer belonging to the union from the office of the sheriff. The union’s printer was mistakenly seized from the building of the Thabazimbi local municipality offices in 2016 when the sheriff attached items belonging to the municipality, including furniture and laptops due to unpaid debt.

The labour union had an office inside the building, which was furnished with equipment, including the printer. Mogorosi and his colleague Isaac Pheto, who was listed as the second respondent in the appeal case, arrived at the sheriff’s office on September 1 2016, to inquire about the printer but the gates were locked. An altercation broke out between Mogorosi and Rossouw at the gate and he denied them entry. Rossouw, who was 27-years old at the time, in court papers said he unlocked the gate to chase Morogosi and Pheto as they were laughing at him and taunting him.

But he denies ever using racial slurs or pointing a gun at them. Mogorosi had told the court that they ran for their lives after noticing that Rossouw had a gun on his hip, while he kept shouting at them. Rossouw then stopped running and uttered the words “ek sal jou kry jou klein k****r,” (“I will get you, you little k****r”). Morogosi said when he looked back during the chase he saw Rossouw putting his gun back into the holster. Rossouw previously told the court that the relationship between the office of the sheriff and the municipality had been strained. He claimed they had received threats from municipal workers in relation to the property seizures.